TOOT

Japanese Men's Underwear Sewn to Maison Standards

There is a brand of underwear that some collectors have spent millions of yen on. Since its launch in 2000, TOOT has changed what men in Japan expect from the most private item in their wardrobe — and it has become one of the best-known names in Japanese men's underwear.

The reason lies in its sewing — a precision that, two decades on, other makers have yet to replicate. The fit is felt the moment you put it on, and once you know it, many say, nothing else quite compares.

Quotes in this article are from By Emotion's 2021 interview with TOOT founder Taku Oishi.

Born from a Question on the Department Store Floor

TOOT was founded by Taku Oishi, a painter trained at Tokyo University of the Arts who was working in visual merchandising for overseas fashion brands. His work took him through department stores across Japan, and there he noticed something.

"The two categories that never fell below the previous year's sales were cosmetics and men's underwear. But even at Isetan, with its discerning customers, the men's underwear floor was led by just one overseas brand — and the quality wasn't good. For the price, the fabric and leg openings stretched out almost immediately. Stylish men all wore it, but I couldn't believe they were truly satisfied."
— Taku Oishi, founder of TOOT

TOOT founder Taku Oishi

That doubt became TOOT — not a calculated business opportunity, but a quiet rebellion against products that relied on the name on the waistband. Its first model, BASIC, is still a staple today, and it is strikingly simple. From the start, the focus was function: underwear that simply feels right the moment you put it on.

Made-in-Japan Sewing, Beautiful Inside and Out

From the very first prototype, the concept was clear: a luxury maison for underwear. Since its founding, TOOT has sewn every piece at its own factory in Hyuga, Miyazaki, where skilled workers refine each detail by hand.

"Like high-end fashion houses, where a design can be copied but the sewing cannot, I put everything into construction. Turn most underwear inside out and the seam allowances are rough. TOOT looks almost the same inside as outside. I didn't plan that — it's what happened after I kept adjusting until I was satisfied."
— Taku Oishi, founder of TOOT

TOOT underwear, finished almost as cleanly inside as out

Even on the inside, bar tacks reinforce the stitching. And because TOOT was designed with international customers in mind from the start, the front pouch received particular attention.

"How a man fits inside his underwear differs by culture — whether circumcision is common, for example. Yet even specialist makers paid little attention to the front pouch. We consider where the top of its curve sits, and the subtle differences in tension and support within it."
— Taku Oishi, founder of TOOT

The elastic at the leg openings was refined through countless trials with different materials, so it doesn't loosen quickly. The hip, too, has its own cutting and construction: "Most people choose underwear by waist size, but how it holds the hip matters just as much." Copies of TOOT have appeared ever since its launch — but even taking a pair apart isn't enough to reproduce it.

From Isetan Shinjuku to Customers Worldwide

At launch, TOOT was sold in only one store: Isetan Shinjuku, where shoppers know quality well. By the end of its first year, sales had far exceeded the buyers' expectations.

The brand believed men should choose their own underwear rather than leave it to someone else — and that once they were convinced, they would come back online. So TOOT opened its online store early. In time it took its collections abroad, exhibiting at Pitti Immagine Uomo in Florence and presenting in Milan, and today a growing number of customers overseas discover it by reputation.

Weekly Limited Designs and TOOT Collectors

TOOT releases new designs every week — remarkably fast even by fashion standards. Limited runs have traditionally not been reissued once they sell out, which is part of why the brand has its own collectors.

"As an unknown brand, I felt we always had to keep customers entertained. Creating a new design every week is a real challenge, and it continues even now, with a new designer."
— Taku Oishi, founder of TOOT

Rather than chasing trends, the brand studies what ends up on sale at the end of each season, asking why customers said no to things that were once on trend. And across every design, one principle holds: in men's underwear, as in women's, sensuality must always come with elegance.

Bringing Quality to the Underwear You Wear Every Day

Underwear is one of the most everyday things a man owns. TOOT treats it as something worth making well.

"Underwear may be the most disposable item in fashion. But TOOT follows the European way of thinking — that even everyday things deserve an aesthetic. I'm proud that there is no other underwear made entirely in Japan, with this much care and craftsmanship."
— Taku Oishi, founder of TOOT

Made in Japan, built from the inside out, and still evolving every week, TOOT is proof that the most private thing a man wears can also be the most considered.

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