Tourists rarely travel to the Japanese prefecture of Toyama, though it’s a mere two hours from Tokyo by bullet train. Stretching from the Sea of Japan to the snow-crested Hida Mountains, the region is home to a wealth of unspoilt natural beauty, from white sandy beaches and rolling green countryside to the deep blue lake of Mikurigaike and the icy Gozenzawa glacier.
It’s an unlikely setting for a futuristic technical-wear factory, but Japanese outdoors giant Goldwin has been based here for more than half a century, starting out in the 1950s making Fair Isle jumpers and wadded socks for the skiers of Hokkaido and Honshu. It has come a long way from these beginnings.
Today, spread across a sprawling 20,000 sq m campus, Goldwin’s Toyama site is something of a utility-wear utopia. Fabric innovations are developed in cutting-edge laboratories, garments are tested on athletes on purpose-built tracks and machines, and high-performance clothing is produced on advanced factory lines. Surrounded by rice fields, the complex was built, says Goldwin, to embody ‘the Japanese way of life – a life that coexists with nature’.
Inside the Goldwin 0 research lab in Toyama, Japan
The archive gallery showcases definitive pieces from the brand’s portfolio
(Image credit: Den Niwa)
While Goldwin might not be a household name in the West, its influence in Japan is huge. Beyond its own offering, it holds a lucrative string of manufacturing licences for sports brands including Speedo, Ellesse and The North Face. Despite its power in the outdoor sphere, which it could easily use for mass production, its guiding principles are more sensitive, merging decades of technical expertise with a genuine commitment to the planet. In 2022, it launched an experimental diffusion line where its philosophies could be explored more freely, coining it ‘Goldwin 0’.
Goldwin 0’s experiments verge on science fiction. Teams study the growth patterns of slime moulds to explore new biodegradable fabrics
Some of Goldwin 0’s experiments verge on science fiction. In one lab, engineered bacteria brew protein-based yarns using a fermentation process developed by bio-venture Spiber. In another, teams study the growth patterns of slime moulds – single-cell organisms that spread by finding the most efficient paths – to explore new biodegradable fabrics, while waste plastics gathered from coastal communities are spun into water-repellent fibres.
The brand is also dedicated to leading the way in innovation – a standout example is Spiber’s Brewed Protein. ‘It’s a new kind of material that is neither petroleum-based nor a natural fibre,’ says Soichi Hirayama, general manager of Goldwin’s Technology Research Laboratory. ‘We believe that spreading awareness and usage of this material can lead to real change in the world.’
A machine which determines colour fastness for washing
(Image credit: Den Niwa)
With each of its projects, Goldwin experiments with paths towards a more responsible future. ‘You don’t have to get it right all the time,’ says Goldwin 0 design director Nur Abbas. ‘Having this new, smaller brand within Goldwin means that we don’t have the baggage of trying to meet sales targets. We can try new things out. There’s a lot more freedom.’
Abbas joined Goldwin 0 in 2023 after a seven-year tenure at Nike, ending up at the helm of hiking department ACG. The British-born, Portland-based designer previously worked at Maison Margiela and Louis Vuitton (under Kim Jones), helped Christophe Lemaire set up Uniqlo U, and was briefly head of design at Yeezy.
‘Working at luxury fashion houses, we looked at how sportswear could be translated into a piece from a surface level,’ says Abbas. ‘In the functional world, there’s a chance to slow down, make something and test it quite thoroughly. To take it outside, go running or up a mountain, spend a few days using it and understanding what needs to be improved allows for a much more intimate relationship with the product.’
‘There’s a little too much humility in Japanese culture – they don’t necessarily shout about what they do. Being in America, I’ve learnt how to be a little louder’
Goldwin 0 design director Nur Abbas
This level of care is evidenced by Abbas’ recent summer collection. Cooling and protection are cleverly engineered into every piece so that shirts and trousers feature mechanical ventilation panels, while outerwear takes inspiration from seed pods. Elsewhere, a love letter to geology is expressed in a mineral palette of reds, greys and creams, while a generative print – based on mathematical patterns found in nature runs quietly through the collection, which could just as easily be worn on a mountain or by the east London fashion crowd.
Manufacturing and processing technologies, as well as fabric innovations, can be explored in the prototype room
(Image credit: Den Niwa)
Asked how he feels about the adoption of outdoor wear in fashion, Abbas’ answer is surprisingly philosophical. ‘There is this notion that we should go back to nature, grow our own vegetables and raise chickens, or whatever. But if everyone did that, there wouldn’t be any nature left. So I think the idea of using outdoor gear in fashion is fine – you might as well have a functional piece over a purely fashion piece.’ Abbas sees his role as an advocate, both for Goldwin’s history and the future it inches toward each day inside the Toyama factory. He uses a puffer jacket from his first season at Goldwin 0 as a metaphor, where the brand’s 3D box baffle structure, usually hidden inside linings, was turned into a visible, origami-like design feature.
‘I don’t take much credit for it because the technology was something that the team at Goldwin had come up with,’ he says. ‘I just made it visible. I think there’s a little too much humility in Japanese culture – they don’t necessarily shout about what they do. Being in America, I’ve learnt how to be a little louder. What I think I can help with, and what I’m proud of being able to do, is to celebrate what Goldwin is good at.’
A version of this story appeared in the July 2025 issue of Wallpaper* , available in print on newsstands from 5 June 2025, on the Wallpaper* app on Apple iOS, and to subscribers of Apple News +. Subscribe to Wallpaper* today
(Image credit: Den Niwa)
(Image credit: Den Niwa)
(Image credit: Den Niwa)
(Image credit: Den Niwa)
AloJapan.com