War and fashion. Or battlefields and products.

There is an ironic and deep connection between two seemingly unrelated elements. It is easy to understand how many of the clothes or products that we commonly call classic or masterpieces are deeply related to war and battlefields. Examples include trench coats, field jackets, pilot sunglasses, military watches, and the aluminum alloy chair Emeco and the lightweight trunk Rimowa. The number increases even more if you include cases such as the Eames chair, which would not have been created without the research on molded plywood for medical splints and stretchers used in battlefields, and the Volkswagen Beetle, which was developed as a tool to control Hitler's public opinion.

Just as innovative weapons or equipment, functional military wear or military products for actual combat that do not waste even a single pocket sometimes determine the outcome of a battle and determine the lives of important soldiers. That is why, during wartime or the Cold War, excellent factories and talents are called in to plan and develop these clothing or products, and no expense is spared in planning and development. And as the ultimate tool, the material to win, the form to win, and the details to win are thoroughly pursued. There is no room for ambiguous elements such as the passion or playfulness of the creator to intervene. Uniforms or outdoor clothing or products may have similar aspects, but military wear or products that are born by thoroughly pursuing only the function and practicality as pure tools unrelated to the creativity or trends of the designer inevitably have one ultimate form and detail.

In terms of fashion, items such as trench coats, M65 field jackets, chino pants, and 6-pocket pants are still being updated in the new field called 'Town Youth' by changing materials, patterns, and details.

In terms of bags, products using ballistic nylon developed for bulletproof vests or bags inspired by the MA-1 flight jacket have existed since the 1980s. These bags can clearly be said to be products inspired by the military. Although it can be said to be a brand located in the lineage of the planned brand “BRIEFING” of Celts Limited in 1998, it has succeeded by introducing thorough militarism into product manufacturing that differentiates it from the pioneers by taking advantage of the latecomer. What is unique about BRIEFING is that its planning and production are done in the United States, and from the beginning, it has commissioned manufacturing to a military bag factory that actually manufactures military bags or special bags supplied to the US military, police, hospitals, etc.

In addition, the briefing also uses textiles such as ballistic nylon (a strong 1050 denier ballistic woven with a special double basket wave that allows the fibers to resilient even when small holes are poked with an ice pick, etc.) and Cordura nylon from DuPont (now a registered trademark of Invista) which is known as a military material and has seven times the durability of nylon, and also uses red lines placed on nylon tape or joint tape that have reinforcement and visibility that comply with military specifications, and metal parts with plastic coating that prevents reflection so that the enemy does not identify the location, etc., to thoroughly enforce authenticity.

At first glance, without even receiving an explanation, I had a professional feeling that "this will definitely be a success." The reason was simple. Compared to Daniel & Bob, which seemed like it would take time to be recognized because of its target audience or price range, Brief had a wide target, an easy-to-understand appearance, and a reasonable price. At the time, military wear symbolized by camouflage was mainly a trend within the industry, but it was beginning to be accepted in the general market, and modernly modified or redesigned military products were gradually emerging to replace vintage or authentic military wear and products.

Above all, compared to other brands in the domestic market that could be competitors, the military-style bags, the briefing stood out in terms of authenticity and atmosphere. However, the only regret was that this project should have had various colors such as olive drab, khaki, or camouflage, but the collection was mainly black. However, the reason why the exhibition space was not conspicuous and why black was the main color was soon understood when President Yuji Nakagawa of Celts Limited explained it to me as I stood in admiration in front of the briefing corner.

The reason it was displayed in an inconspicuous place was because the briefing, which had just started, had virtually stopped. The reason was the 9/11 terrorist attacks. At that time, the U.S. military factories that were in charge of producing the briefing were ordered to switch all production to military production after the Bush administration began invading Afghanistan, so most of the production lines were shut down, and small-scale civilian work like the briefing was pushed back, eventually making production impossible.

No matter how much Seltz Limited called or emailed, the factory would only reply, “It’s impossible.” There was a time when they didn’t respond to emails at all. Nevertheless, Seltz Limited exhibited at exhibitions and received orders for buyers who wanted briefings, but it was a special situation where they couldn’t promise when they would be able to deliver after production resumed. In the end, production resumed in 2003, but that left buyers and the press with a strong impression that briefings were truly manufactured in a U.S. military factory.