nanamica: the story of the Japanese brand and its link with Goldwin

nanamica and Goldwin are two Japanese brands we chose for the same reason: with them, function comes before style, and the style follows anyway. One comes from the sea and the city, the other from the mountains and skiing. Yet they share a common history, common workshops and the same relationship with materials.

Both brands are available at Aura Store, in our Rennes store and online. Here is what you need to know about nanamica, how the Japanese brand works, its materials, and the link that binds it to Goldwin.

The history of nanamica: the house of the seven seas

nanamica was founded in Tokyo in 2003 by Eiichiro Homma, with his partner Takashi Imaki. The name roughly translates as “the house of the seven seas”. The ocean is the brand’s founding image: an open, calm space that connects every continent.

Homma did not come out of nowhere. After graduating in 1982, he joined Goldwin, the major Japanese sportswear group, where he spent more than eighteen years. There he worked on the group’s licensed brands, in particular Helly Hansen, for which he became brand manager and designer, and on special projects for sailing brands such as Henri Lloyd and Murphy & Nye.

That is where his eye was formed: clothes born at sea, designed to stand up to wind and water, with details that all have a reason to be there. nanamica would keep that marine foundation and bring it to the city.

The brand’s motto, “One Ocean, All Lands”, comes from a conversation between Homma and Bruce McIntyre, founder of the New Zealand brand Macpac: the ocean is one, and the world is connected.

Sports and Utility: how nanamica works

nanamica sums up its approach in two words: “Utility” and “Sports”. The aim is to blend fashion and function at a high level to offer what the brand calls “the standard clothing of our time”. Neutral pieces that cut across genders, ages and styles.

In practice, this means a few rules the brand has followed for twenty years.

Keep a distance from trends. nanamica makes quality pieces meant to stay in a wardrobe for a long time. The brand is known for withdrawing a model that sells well as soon as it starts to look dated.

Add nothing for decoration. Homma puts it simply: nanamica has never made a jacket without pockets. Every detail has a function. And when a piece does not need to be waterproof, the brand does not make it waterproof: it looks for value elsewhere.

Only make what you would wear yourself. It is the brand’s basic criterion, and probably the most demanding.

“If we don’t want to wear them ourselves, we don’t make them.”

Eiichiro Homma, founder of nanamica. Quote adapted from an interview with Heddels.

nanamica materials: 65/35 Bayhead Cloth, GORE-TEX, ALPHADRY

At nanamica, developing a piece starts with the fabric, not the drawing. The brand works directly with Japanese spinners and weavers, which lets it bring fabrics to market before others. A few have become signatures.

65/35 Bayhead Cloth: a 65% polyester, 35% cotton fabric developed by nanamica. It is the brand’s take on the 60/40 cloth of 1970s American mountain parkas, with a denser hand, a water-repellent finish and ageing close to that of cotton. You will find it on the brand’s coats, jackets and down jackets.

Cotton-faced GORE-TEX. nanamica is known for pairing a GORE-TEX membrane with a natural-looking exterior, to create a waterproof jacket that does not look like a technical jacket. The Cruiser Jacket is the example.

Japanese fibres. ALPHADRY for light, breathable jackets, COOLMAX for jerseys, KODENSHI down, loopwheel jersey knitted slowly on vintage circular machines. On its jeans, the brand uses “CCY” (Cotton Covered Yarn) denim: a polyester core wrapped in cotton, invisible to the eye, which stabilises the fabric without changing its look.

The result is a wardrobe that looks simple and is not: a cotton shirt that dries quickly, jeans that keep their shape, a coat that keeps out the rain without a visible membrane.

The history of Goldwin: from Toyama to the Olympic Games

To understand nanamica, you have to understand Goldwin. The story begins in 1950, when Tosaku Nishida, aged 25, founded a knitting factory in Oyabe, in Toyama Prefecture, at the foot of the Japanese Alps. From 1952, the workshop turned to sportswear, and in 1958 it launched its own brand: Goldwin.

Skiing is at its heart, and it has stayed that way. In 1963, the company became Goldwin Inc. In 1964, it dressed the Japanese teams at the Tokyo Games: eight of the country’s ten gold medallists competed in its uniforms.

From the 1970s, Goldwin also became the Japanese home of major foreign outdoor brands. In 1978, it began distributing The North Face in Japan, and today it holds the brand for Japan and Korea. In 1983, it signed with Helly Hansen. It was in this context that Eiichiro Homma learned his trade.

Goldwin never stopped making things. In 2015, together with Spiber, it presented the Moon Parka prototype, a jacket made from synthetic protein. In 2017, it opened the Goldwin Tech Lab in Oyabe, a research centre combined with a factory, on its home ground.

The link between nanamica and Goldwin

The link is more than that of a former employer. nanamica Inc. was set up in 2003 within the Goldwin group, of which it is a subsidiary. Homma is its president and creative director, but the structure, the workshops and the access to Japanese mills come from the group.

That same year, nanamica launched a project that would change Goldwin’s model: The North Face Purple Label. The idea was simple. Goldwin holds the rights to The North Face brand in Japan. Rather than importing the American collections, it asked nanamica to redesign the brand’s classics with more balanced cuts, richer materials and softer colours. The name comes from a purple label used in the 1980s for a women’s project.

“We decided to create The North Face Purple Label with the trademark rights we held. It was the start of a new model: designing our own sports and outdoor clothing ourselves, in Japan.”

Takao Watanabe, president of Goldwin. Quote adapted from an interview with Monocle.

Purple Label remains exclusive to Japan and Korea. But the model it introduced, designing in Japan rather than distributing, became the model for the whole group. The Goldwin brand itself, long confined to skiing, was rethought in the same spirit: technical pieces, pared back to the essentials, designed and tested in Toyama.

Today, nanamica is sold in 24 countries, with stores in Daikanyama (Tokyo), Kobe, Kyoto, Fukuoka and New York. Goldwin, for its part, is developing its own brand internationally. The two brands move forward together, with the same lab behind them.

nanamica and Goldwin at Aura: two brands, one culture

What interests us at Aura is what this link produces: two expressions of the same high standards.

nanamica is the urban, maritime side. Shirts, trousers, deck jackets and coats that look like wardrobe classics and behave like technical clothing. A palette of navy, khaki, black and grey.

Goldwin is the mountain side. Shells, down jackets, fleeces and trousers where every seam comes from skiing, but designed with a restraint that makes them wearable every day. Japanese minimalism applied to performance.

The two answer each other. A Goldwin shell over a nanamica shirt, nanamica Baker trousers with a Goldwin fleece: the proportions hold together, the materials complement each other, and nothing shouts.

How to wear nanamica and Goldwin

nanamica is worn as a complete wardrobe. The brand builds its pieces to work together: straight selvedge jeans or Wide Baker Pants, a striped COOLMAX jersey, and on top an ALPHADRY Field Jacket in between seasons or the GORE-TEX Cruiser Jacket when it rains. The fits are regular, slightly relaxed, never excessive.

Goldwin is worn in layers. An Insulated Liner Jacket or a Deep Pile fleece as a mid layer, a Barite 2L shell on top, Baggy Straight Pants or Field Pants below. The volumes are a little more generous, the lines sharper.

Our advice: don’t try to match. Both brands use similar colour ranges, sober and deep. Just stay within the same tones and let the materials make the difference.

nanamica and Goldwin: the details

nanamica: founded in 2003 in Tokyo by Eiichiro Homma. “Sports and Utility” concept. Signatures: 65/35 Bayhead Cloth, cotton-faced GORE-TEX, ALPHADRY, COOLMAX, KODENSHI down, CCY denim. Stores in Daikanyama, Kobe, Kyoto, Fukuoka and New York.

Goldwin: founded in 1950 in Oyabe, Toyama, by Tosaku Nishida. Goldwin brand since 1958, with skiing at its core. Distributor of The North Face in Japan since 1978. Goldwin Tech Lab in Oyabe since 2017.

The link: nanamica Inc. is a subsidiary of the Goldwin group, set up in 2003. Homma spent more than eighteen years at Goldwin before founding nanamica. nanamica has designed The North Face Purple Label for the group since 2003.

Why we chose them: for the way they put material before design, and make technical clothing that does not look it.

At Aura Store: nanamica and Goldwin are available in our Rennes store, at 2 rue Châteaurenault, and online at aura-estore.com, with delivery to France and across Europe.

Discover nanamica and Goldwin at Aura

Aura Store is a stockist of nanamica and Goldwin in Rennes. Both brands’ autumn/winter 26 collections are available in store and on the e-store, with delivery to France and across Europe.

See the full nanamica selection at Aura →

See the full Goldwin selection at Aura →

nanamica 2L GORE-TEX Cruiser Jacket →

nanamica Down Cardigan, 65/35 Bayhead Cloth →

Goldwin Barite 2L Shell Jacket →

Goldwin WINDSTOPPER Puffy Jacket →

Frequently asked questions about nanamica and Goldwin

What is nanamica?

nanamica is a Japanese brand founded in Tokyo in 2003 by Eiichiro Homma. Its name means “the house of the seven seas”. It designs everyday clothing that blends fashion and function, built around the “Sports and Utility” concept, with materials developed in Japan.

What is the link between nanamica and Goldwin?

nanamica Inc. is a subsidiary of the Japanese Goldwin group, set up in 2003. Its founder, Eiichiro Homma, worked at Goldwin for more than eighteen years before launching nanamica. nanamica also designs The North Face Purple Label, the Japanese line of The North Face, for Goldwin.

What is The North Face Purple Label?

A line of The North Face designed by nanamica for Goldwin, which holds the rights to the brand in Japan. It reworks The North Face classics with cuts and materials closer to city clothing. It is only sold in Japan and Korea.

What is 65/35 Bayhead Cloth?

A 65% polyester, 35% cotton fabric developed by nanamica, inspired by the 60/40 cloth of 1970s mountain parkas. Water-repellent and dense, it develops a patina like cotton. It is the reference fabric for the brand’s coats and down jackets.

Where can I buy nanamica in France?

Aura Store is a nanamica stockist in Rennes. The nanamica selection is available in store, at 2 rue Châteaurenault, and online at aura-estore.com, with delivery to France and across Europe.

Where can I buy Goldwin in France?

Aura Store carries Goldwin in its Rennes store and on aura-estore.com: shell jackets, down jackets, fleeces, trousers and accessories from the autumn/winter 26 collection.

nanamica and Goldwin: what is the difference?

nanamica is the urban, maritime brand of the Goldwin group: shirts, trousers, coats and jackets that look like classics and behave like technical clothing. Goldwin is the group’s own brand, born from skiing: shells, down jackets, fleeces, designed with minimalist restraint. The two are worn together.