DANAD Hishiya Karen Blosso is the only Japanese clothing store in Grand Front Osaka. More than just a traditional Japanese clothing store, the store has garnered significant support from the Japanese clothing industry for its Karen Blosso brand of rubber-soled sandals. This time, the store will be collaborating with its own men's brand, DANAD, for the first time. In addition to popular items like women's and men's rubber-soled sandals and women's bags, the store will also offer men's denim kimonos.

The denim kimono was developed in collaboration with the casual jeans brand Fullcount two years ago and can be washed in the washing machine just like regular jeans. It is sold in a dark blue color, so you can enjoy the fading of the color with repeated wear and washing.

Hishiya President Hironobu Hirota offers this recommendation to the Japanese clothing industry: "We originally developed the rubber-soled sandals to make wearing Japanese clothing more enjoyable. While formal kimonos are obviously necessary, there were far too few elements for casual wear." He went on to explain the development process, saying, "We came up with the idea for denim kimonos because we wanted to make it easier to mix and match with Western clothing. That's why we asked Full Count for help." They look natural when paired with T-shirts, shorts, boots, sneakers, and more, and can be enjoyed just like Western clothing.

The new store at Grand Front Osaka marks Hishiya's sixth directly managed store. Until now, most stores only sold rubber-soled sandals and bags, but this store is the first to feature fitting rooms in order to sell men's denim kimonos. Demand in the Japanese clothing industry has been declining due to a continued emphasis on formal wear, so while this attempt to boost demand by proposing everyday wear may not have an immediate effect, it is likely to be an effective approach in the long term.