Midorikawa // Engineered Garments Collaborative Capsule - Three Steps Beyond The Classi

Interview
Kenta Miyamoto & Taku Midorikawa

Three Steps Beyond The Classic
A new expression of “Made in America”

A shared affection for traditional menswear, yet two different visions of what it can be. The collaboration between ENGINEERED GARMENTS and Midorikawa is where their distinct design philosophies meet. A reversible suit set crafted from uniform serge, and a floral shirt recalling everyday American life. Through a mutual exchange of materials and ideas, Kenta Miyamoto of ENGINEERED GARMENTS and Taku Midorikawa of Midorikawa arrive at a new expression of dress. Rooted in the classics, yet free in spirit.

One starting point, two different paths

What were your impressions of each other’s approach to design

Miyamoto: I’ve always felt that Midorikawa has their own sense of freedom and individuality, built upon the foundations of traditional menswear. ENGINEERED GARMENTS and Midorikawa may appear to take entirely different paths, but I always felt there was a common sensibility beneath the surface.

Midorkawa: I’ve always looked at ENGINEERED GARMENTS as a great mentor. I share that love of vintage and traditional menswear; it’s at the core of what I do. What differs is how we reinterpret those influences. We may arrive at different places, but there’s a shared ground between us. I felt immense joy in bringing our two worlds together.

How did the idea for this collaboration first come about?

Miyamoto: Honestly, I think it was over drinks (laughs). We had a chance to sit down and talk properly when we were both in Paris for a trade show. I remember thinking it would be interesting to see those American suiting fabrics we use reimagined through Taku’s design language. Not the usual denim or cotton duck, but some of the more unconventional design fabrics that have been a part of ENGINEERED GARMENTS. That’s where it all began.

Midorikawa: Once Midorikawa started showing collections in Paris, I found myself spending more time with Kenta and his team. Somewhere along the way, he brought up the idea of working together, and I started thinking about what I could bring to the table. It’s been about two and a half years since that first conversation (laughs).

Miyamoto: We had 80 percent of the concept figured out from our very first conversation. It was the remaining 20 percent that took time to work out. When I saw the complete visual, everything we had imagined was right there in front of me. It was a moving moment—a realization that this was exactly what we had set out to create.

Midorikawa: Because I was working with a brand I deeply respect, it was important to honor the principles and sense of order at the heart of its craftsmanship. The challenge was to find room for something unexpected within that framework. That was where we focused our time and energy.

An Inside-Out Perspective

How would you describe the central theme of this collaboration?

Miyamoto: I’d call it “office uniforms.” One of the key fabrics is uniform serge, traditionally used for NYPD uniforms and a longstanding staple of ENGINEERED GARMENTS. America has a rich culture of uniforms, spanning workwear, police, and military clothing. We wanted to bring the durability of these fabrics together with the beauty of Taku’s detailing and see what new form of dress might emerge.

What was the process like along the way?

Miyamoto: At the beginning, we gave Taku a sample of the ENGINEERED GARMENTS Bedford Jacket, which he spent some time wearing. The first sample he came back with was remarkably well refined. It was clear that this was something you could only create by wearing the garment and truly understanding its character. Knowing that he had taken the time meant a lot to me and remains the most memorable part of the process for me.

Why the Bedford Jacket?

Miyamoto: It’s one of the most established pieces in the ENGINEERED GARMENTS collection, occupying a unique position as a tailored jacket designed for casual wear in the states. To me, if it feels American, it feels like Daiki Suzuki (president of NEPENTHES AMERICA INC. and founder of ENGINEERED GARMENTS), and it feels like ENGINEERED GARMENTS. The idea of letting Taku put his own touch to it was almost instinctive. I thought something interesting could come out of that.

Midorikawa: Looking at it closely again, I realized that it was already a fully realized piece. My challenge was to figure out what I could add. I believe that the more unconventional a design appears, the more it needs an underlying set or rules and order to work. I was reworking something Daiki, Kenta, and the team had built over many years. I wanted to make sure my intervention could genuinely resonate with them. That came with a certain apprehension.

So the reversible construction became the approach you chose to explore.

MidorikawaL Since the beginning of Midorikawa, I’ve been thinking about how to reveal the beauty of a garment’s construction. Even the most complex designs need to work as a whole, from the pattern to the seam. Reversible pieces have also been a recurring part of my collection. This time, the starting point was to make sure the jacket remained a true ENGINEERED GARMENTS Bedford Jacket when turned inside out. The other side would carry the intricate details I often work with, but both sides had to stand on their own as complete garments, so we built a new set of rules around that idea. We also followed ENGINEERED GARMENTS’ original specifications for silhouette and sizing.

That was an element I wanted to preserve.

Miyamoto: I was simply amazed. Reversible construction is not unfamiliar in American military wear, and we sometimes turn our jackets inside out for lookbook shoots to reveal the fleece or quilting underneath. But Taku took that idea further. He made the reversed side a complete design in itself. Through a tailored jacket, he brought to life an entity that felt like a natural culmination of everything we love.

The fabric stamps are another particularly striking detail.

Miyamoto: Those aren’t fictional markings. They were originally used to identify fabrics supplied to police academies. In recent years, the fabric arrives without them, so we asked the supplier to send us the original stamps separately and applied them ourselves (laughs).

Midorikawa: The first fabric samples we received already had the stamps on them, so I thought to position them on what would normally be the reversed side of the garment. Fabrics intended for official institutions are not a medium I would typically work with in my own collections. Bringing that history and context into view was one of the interesting things that could have only come out of this collaboration.

Domestic Florals, Reimagined

With the shirts, the exchange goes the other way: ENGINEERED GARMENTS takes on a cotton broadcloth proposed by Midorikawa.

Midorikawa: As Kenta and I exchanged fabrics and ideas, I felt that florals were a concept Midorikawa could bring to the collaboration. We don’t necessarily build every collection around a specific theme, but flowers have been an underlying theme for me. Whether through original prints or embroidery, there’s always been a floral element in my work.

How did the floral pattern come about?

Midorikawa: We revisited a textile originally developed for 2024 Fall/Winter, featuring a pattern inspired by the floral prints commonly found on American bed linens, and placed the ENGINEERED GARMENTS and Midorikawa logos.

Miyamoto: Don’t you find it interesting how a pattern can feel entirely new, yet somehow familiar at the same time? America has a distinct tradition of home furnishing textiles, from sofa upholstery to pajamas. This pattern had that unmistakable American feel. And the texture of cotton broadcloth is something we’ve always liked for our shirts, so the combination felt very natural.

The fabric appears across three different shirt styles.

Miyamoto: The 19th BD Shirt is a must—a classic, especially when worn with a suit. We also wanted to see how Taku’s florals and the Cagoule Shirt would work with it. And since we approached this project with a three-piece suit in mind, it called for a shirt with a longer silhouette, which is how the Dayton Long Shirt came about.

Midorikawa: ENGINEERED GARMENTS embodies the spirit of Made in New York. I have a great respect for a brand with such a strong foundation in their garment making. And naturally, I wanted to bring that distinct sense of America into the project.

A Different Take on Made in America

What does carrying on the legacy of ENGINEERED GARMENTS mean to you?

Miyamoto: Daiki once described the appeal of American clothing in terms of a “vision.” Take a t-shirt or a pair of jeans, for example. Colors fade, fabrics shrink, shapes twist. What might be seen as imperfections are, in fact, part of their value. A pair of jeans worn for years can become more meaningful than the finest luxury garment. It cannot be achieved through perfect materials or impeccable construction alone, and it’s a uniquely American way of seeing things. I think the same vision lies at the heart of ENGINEERED GARMENTS. It is not about keeping the past intact but finding new expressions in the present and passing it on. Bringing in the sensibility of the 90s that influenced us, or working with Taku, are both parts of that process. We want to hold on to what matters at the core, while giving it a voice of our generation.

Midorikawa: In that sense, what I am trying to do with Midorikawa is almost the opposite. I love music and culture, but I am drawn to ideas that do not belong to any specific era or cultural context. What matters to me is that the clothes have an unorthodox individuality. Hearing what Kenta just said, I’m beginning to see that while ENGINEERED GARMENTS and Midorikawa may seem worlds apart, perhaps something fundamental connects the two.

How do each of you define “Made in America” today?

Miyamoto: It has two sides. One preserves its heritage, and another continues to push boundaries through cutting-edge innovation, with Apple being a prime example. Living in New York, I feel I can look at things that capture my interest there through an American lens. The past matters, but so does the world as I see it now. That to me is Made in America, and my vision.

Midorikawa: Most of what I make is made in Japan, so I tend to see Made in America more from the perspective of a product. I have long admired it, and there is something in its character, the way it is made, that cannot be replicated elsewhere. This time, we approached what is inherently Made in America in our own way, and it was a new undertaking for us. Finding room for new ideas within the framework of another’s craftsmanship was thrilling. I rarely make clothes in collaboration with others, so when Kenta invited me, I was excited by the prospect of stepping beyond my usual creation. There were some nerves along the way, but it was one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Miyamoto: It may come across as avant-garde, but to me, there was something deeply traditional about what we did. I remember telling Taku that we were aiming “three steps beyond the classic.” There are still so many fascinating American subjects to explore. Given what we were able to do in this first collaboration, I’m looking forward to seeing his ambition push things even further next time.

Kenta Miyamoto

Director of ENGINEERED GARMENTS. Born in Hiroshima, Japan, in 1982, he moved to the United States in 2002 and joined Nepenthes America in 2011. Following his tenure as designer of AïE, he assumed his current role in 2025. Based in New York.
ENGINEERED GARMENTS Official Site

Taku Midorikawa

Designer of Midorikawa. Established his label in 2017. Grounded in traditional menswear, his work explores an unconventional approach to pattern, construction, and ornament. Free from allegiance to a particular era or cultural context, he pursues a form of original expression in the garments themselves.
Midorikawa Official Site