Филтри
Kijima Takayuki is Tokyo millinery at its most precise. On the rack: felt fedoras with disciplined crowns, raffia and paper‑braid bucket hats with modern open weaves, and technical caps that wear clean. The brand’s balance is clear—couture‑level shaping, everyday function, and sizing in centimeters that actually fits. Expect quiet trims, tuned brims, and hats that sit close to the head rather than shouting.
Silhouette & construction
Shapes are exacting. Fedoras use center‑crease or teardrop crowns with measured heights so the profile reads upright, not costume. Brims are cut for proportion—narrow for street, medium and wide for sun and line. Buckets span structured domes to softly sloped tops; the brand’s honeycomb‑like raffia weave gives volume without weight. Caps include 6‑panel baseball and sailor or fisherman riffs, often with an elastic back or discreet adjuster for comfort.
Construction is the point. High Line pieces are blocked and finished in the Daikanyama atelier using haute‑mode techniques: hand shaping on wooden blocks, dense braid sewing, and careful molding so the crown sits smooth and the brim doesn’t ripple. Many lined styles use cupro for glide and breathability; unlined straw and paper‑braid models keep the head cool. The net effect is neat architecture on the head with no hard edges.
Materials & finish
Winter hats work in rabbit hair felt and beaver hair felt; both take a crisp block, while beaver’s higher natural oil content increases water repellence and shape memory. Summer and resort lean into plant and paper fibers: raffia, sisal, buntal, abaca, and paper‑braid cords. Paper‑braid is light and resilient, with a soft hand that travels well if you don’t crush it. Technical cloths appear across caps and safari or bucket styles—Ventile® cotton for dense, weather‑tolerant shells; cotton typewriter cloth with a subtle urethane coating for bounce; and performance blends such as Solotex × Ecopet for stretch and recovery with recycled content.
Trims are minimal: grosgrain bands, narrow leather ties, tonal eyelets. Interiors are clean—sweatbands are usually grosgrain or leather; select collaborations add satin or cupro linings. Finish is matte and modern, even on formal shapes, so the hats pair with tailoring or denim without reading vintage.
Signatures & icons
High Line. The atelier‑made tier where fur felts and rare straw braids become quietly exact fedoras and boater shapes, produced in small runs with couture‑level blocking and handwork.
Raffia honeycomb bucket. An open‑weave summer bucket with airy texture and a brim that angles down just enough to shade without hiding the face.
Paper‑braid soft hat. A rounded, down‑brim style that packs light and springs back with steam.
Technical caps and safari hats. Ventile® and other dense cottons give structure and weather resistance; elastic‑back six‑panel caps sit low and clean.
Collaborations. Ongoing work with Japanese labels brings material twists: rabbit‑felt fedoras and wool‑lined buckets with UNDERCOVER or TAKAHIROMIYASHITA TheSoloist., crisp linen caps with YLÈVE, woven‑paper hats with Sunspel, and a Ryuichi Sakamoto–inspired work cap.
How to wear it now
Weekday uniform. Center‑crease beaver felt, unstructured blazer, tapered trouser, clean leather sneaker. The hat sharpens the line without extra layers.
Evening. Black rabbit‑felt fedora with a long coat and a minimal knit. Keep jewelry small so the crown and brim frame the face.
Weekend. Raffia honeycomb bucket, crisp poplin shirt, straight selvedge denim, fisherman sandal. Texture does the styling.
Travel or transitional weather. Ventile® bucket or cap, lightweight parka, pleated trouser. Add a paper‑braid soft hat in the case for warm stops; steam on arrival.
Fit & sizing notes
The brand sizes in centimeters across numbered runs. As a rule of thumb: 1 = 57 cm, 2 = 59 cm, 3 = 61 cm; select collaborations extend to larger sizes, and some styles are one size around 58 cm. Caps with elastic backs wear snug but not tight; if you sit between sizes in felts, size up and fine‑tune with a slim foam insert under the sweatband.
Fedoras. Crown height is measured and balanced; choose the brim width you will actually wear. Narrow reads urban, mid is versatile, wide is sun‑capable and dramatic.
Buckets and safari hats. True to the centimeter. Open‑weave raffia feels roomier; solid braids and cloths feel firmer.
Beanies and knits. Close and stretchy; ear‑flap and long beanies are intentionally snug to hold shape.
Care & longevity
Follow the care label first. For fur‑felt hats, brush with a soft hat brush, store on a shelf or in a box, and avoid grabbing the crown when taking it on and off. Light rain beads on dense felts, but do not soak; if wet, shake, reshape the brim on a flat surface, and air‑dry away from heat, then brush. For raffia, sisal, buntal, and paper‑braid, keep dry; remove dust with a soft brush or cloth and store out of direct sun. Technical cotton hats can usually be spot‑cleaned; select cotton styles are hand‑washable when labeled—reshape and air‑dry.
Longevity is built in. The brand’s Daikanyama store offers shaping and basic repairs such as ribbon and sweatband replacement. A travel steamer refreshes paper‑braid and felt; avoid high heat, and never crush a blocked hat unless the model is explicitly rollable.
Heritage & today
Designer Takayuki Kijima trained under master milliner Akio Hirata in 1990–1994, learning European haute‑mode techniques while producing hats for houses including Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and Comme des Garçons. He set up an atelier in Daikanyama in 1995 and opened a brand store in 1999. In 2013 the predecessor label coeur was renamed KIJIMA TAKAYUKI, expanding men’s and women’s lines. In 2017, the high‑end High Line launched to formalize the atelier’s couture methods and rare material work. The studio presents collections twice a year in Tokyo and Paris, and continues to collaborate with Japanese designers from UNDERCOVER and FACETASM to TAKAHIROMIYASHITA TheSoloist., ART&SCIENCE, Sunspel, and YLÈVE.
Responsibility, succinctly
Responsibility here is craft that lasts and materials used with intent. Answer It upcycles vintage hat bodies and trims into new designs, extending life while keeping work in skilled hands. Technical fabrics include options made with recycled fibers (e.g., Solotex × Ecopet). High Line is made in the Tokyo atelier, and the brand offers repair and reshaping services to extend wear. No grand claims—just hats designed to be worn, maintained, and reworn.