German high-performance apparel brand ACRONYM has collaborated with Tsutomu Nihei's sci-fi action manga "BLAME!", which has a global fanbase, especially among creators. The collaboration will begin on May 20th, when the animated film is released nationwide as a special feature at the Annecy International Animated Film Festival 2017. The collaboration will be available at four EDITION stores in Tomorrowland. The brand's designer, Errolson Hugh, who has gained popularity for his functional and futuristic designs through collaborations with NikeLab, has long been a huge fan of the series, saying, "I love its minimalism, with almost no dialogue." The collaboration was born out of a desire to create a unique collaboration between ACRONYM and EDITION. The limited-edition T-shirts, limited to 200 pieces, feature three designs featuring BLAME! graphics painted on the ACRONYM body. A special space will be set up at the EDITION Omotesando Hills store from May 20th to June 3rd. The collection will also be available at the Lumine Shinjuku, Nagoya Lachic, and Grand Front Osaka stores.

Blam was serialized in Kodansha's monthly Afternoon magazine from 1997 to 2003. The work has received a lot of support from overseas video creators and artists, and there have been talks of it being adapted into a film for some time, but now, 20 years after the start of serialization, it will be released for the first time as a theatrical anime, with Nihei Tsutomu as general supervisor and Seshita Hiroyuki as director.

Text: Tatsuya Noda