The collaboration came about after a renowned jiu-jitsu professional and childhood friend of Umit Benan’s from Istanbul saw his Tokyo Diaries collection (Fall/Winter 2016). For that season Umit Benan was inspired by the men in martial arts coming to drink after practice in the Shinjuku Golden Gai quarter in Tokyo, wearing classic coats in the rain over their training gear.

The light and the atmosphere is out of a Blade Runner scene and nighttime envelops the competitors still wrapped up in their kimonos on their way to the bars. Umit Benan’s friend put him in touch with Vince Quintugua of Shoyroll, the LA-based cultish brand leader in martial art technical clothing and their mutual affinity ignited the creation of the Umit Benan x Shoyoroll co-branded capsule.