Daisuke Obana’s aim with N. Hoolywood’s Test Product Exchange Service collections is to adapt military-inspired garments ‘for urban use’. But should you meet friends in the brand’s safety yellow hoodie topper, or in a tracksuit-like look with pockets and adjustable drawstrings, they might think you’ve fallen from the sky or just returned from a mission. It is not without reason that the models wearing helmets and goggles in the lookbook use parachutes as props: TPES’s autumn setup again borrows from the equipment of pararescuers, who are equipped with elements such as harnesses and padding that allow them to move freely and safely.
You could look past the bells and whistles and take the gray N. Hoolywood tracksuit at face value, ditto with the cargo pants, but context matters. In this climate, preparedness can be everything. Just last week, Sweden’s Civil Defense Minister and Commander-in-Chief urged people to be prepared for the worst. “My ambition with this [announcement] is not to worry people; my ambition is to get more people to think about their own situation and their own responsibilities,” General Byden said, according to the BBC. Obana seems to have the same opinion. “I think it is essential that viewers feel a sense of dread when they look at the Test Product Exchange Service collection,” he wrote. “Given that disasters and emergencies can happen anytime, anywhere, it can be essential for ordinary people like us to have basic knowledge and understanding… but the best part is that nothing scary happens.”
