It was never a guarantee that cult Japanese label HYKE would turn its eye to menswear. Sure, it was technically possible to slip into the fashion brand’s unisex-leaning, military-inspired, quietly utilitarian womenswear (or its genderless, survival-ready collections with The North Face Japan). But actual HYKE pieces made specifically for men? That’s always been best relegated to daydreams. 

We can wake up now: HYKE’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection includes an actual menswear line. And just like the womenswear that’s garnered it a cult following, it’s really good.

Designed separately from the women’s line but cohering under the same theme, the debut offering debuted during Tokyo Fashion Week. It features a full range of boxy jackets, lightwear shirting, and flowing pants inspired by the US Army’s M-51 Arctic Trousers — just one of the many, many military references packed into HYKE’s consistent oeuvre. Seeing HYKE’s men’s pieces slot so naturally between womenswear, it's hard to believe it took 13 years.

There’s no better time than now. We’re in the midst of a genuinely rich moment for menswear, with labels like a.Presse, ssstein, and Auralee all turning out the kinds of military-inflected yet relaxed silhouettes that HYKE is already known for. By fully stepping into the mix with a dedicated men’s line, the label is bringing over a decade of expertise that sets it apart from the crowded pack. 

That’s because “slow and steady” is how the brand operates. Since founding the brand in 2013, husband-and-wife design duo Hideaki Yoshihara and Yukiko Ode have quietly perfected a formula: take a shared obsession with vintage workwear and military gear, infuse it into deconstructed GORE-TEX and Pertex and sturdy wool techwear staples, and transform it all into surprisingly unfussy womenswear.

The approach has paid off, with HYKE attracting not only a loyal following of domestic shoppers but also major brands; there’s its on-off partnership with The North Face, as well as previous linkups with everything from Mackintosh to adidas. 

Ode told us in 2024 that HYKE partly began as a way to reshape militarywear into womenswear. “I never liked dressing very feminine,” she said, “so I would end up wearing men’s clothes a lot.” 

Consider HYKE’s first foray into menswear its full-circle moment — and proof that sometimes, the best way to approach a new perspective on design is by considering what you already love to put on. 

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