NÒMARHYTHM TEXTILE and Jordan Brand Launch Collaboration, Reinvigorating Athletic Heritage Through Tokyo Craftsmanship

The NÒMARHYTHM TEXTILE x Jordan Brand apparel collection is officially arriving to unite Japanese craft with global athletic heritage. In an exclusive interview with Hypebeast, co-founders Masako Noguchi and Takuma Sasaki opened up about translating their 20-year legacy of refined Tokyo textile design onto an international stage.

Rather than focusing on the basketball court, the project draws deep inspiration from Japan’s national reverence for baseball. Building on a domestic activation alongside the Tokyo Giants from earlier this summer, the partnership centers around the story of a fictional athletic team named “RHYTHM.” The apparel line avoids standard athletic mesh, opting instead for dark, wash-treated woven fabrics across structured baseball shirts and utility trousers designed to age naturally.

The undisputed centerpiece of the collection is the “RHYTHM” team bomber jacket, which brings the fictional team narrative to life through embroidered floral motifs, graphic appliqués, and a detailed printed lining. The collection also highlights NÒMARHYTHM TEXTILE’s signature “Draw Your Garden” motif, fusing their hand-drawn floral pattern directly with Jordan Brand’s iconic red Jumpman logo across a lightweight bandana. Speaking on the creative process with Hypebeast, the founders emphasized that preserving their intricate craftsmanship while executing at a global scale was paramount throughout the partnership.

Hypebeast: Taking NÒMARHYTHM TEXTILE from a revered, niche Tokyo label to a global platform alongside Jordan Brand is a massive milestone. Going back to your roots, what are your core personal memories associated with Jordan Brand, and does this collaboration feel like a “dream come true” moment for you both?

Takuma Sasaki: My first pair of Jordans was the AJ6, which I got when I was 14. I remember how special it felt—almost like owning a piece of the culture itself.

Masako Noguchi: It’s a great honor, and incredibly exciting, for us to be working with Jordan Brand on a global project.

How did you navigate the design process of balancing classic sportswear structures with your signature utilitarian touch?

MN: We saw our role as creating a bridge between sports and fashion. We wanted to bring our core values of textiles and craftsmanship into the collection, while creating pieces that people would genuinely want to wear on the street.

Baseball holds a profoundly special place in Japanese culture, acting as a pillar of both community and national identity. As a Tokyo-based brand, how deeply does this cultural reverence for the sport resonate with you personally, and did that domestic love for baseball influence your decision to anchor a Jordan Brand collaboration around the diamond rather than the basketball court?

MN: Baseball is a sport that is deeply familiar to Japanese people. When I was growing up, I remember watching baseball on television with my family almost every night.

TS: In fact, in July, Jordan Brand and the Tokyo Giants presented a special project in Tokyo, featuring a collection that incorporated our signature “Draw Your Garden” print. All of the players wore the full collection during three games at Tokyo Dome. The stadium was packed with fans, and the energy was incredible. It was a very special experience for us.

What makes the NÒMARHYTHM TEXTILE × Jordan Brand collaboration particularly exciting is how the story carries over from one project to the next, while expanding onto an even more global stage.

The collection utilizes a very deliberate, restrained black palette, accented only by the iconic red Jumpman logo. Was this intentional to allow the intricate white stitching, the co-branding on the pockets, and the handcrafted visual treatments to emerge and age beautifully over time?

TS: We chose black as a key color throughout the collection, drawing on the strong association we have with Jordan. We also applied wash treatments to the garments to bring out a sense of texture and character in the fabrics, while making them feel immediately natural and comfortable on the body.

One of the things we cared about most was making sure the details could be appreciated the moment you picked up a piece. We wanted to bring multiple techniques and details together within a single garment, while still allowing each element to be felt and seen.

Your hand-drawn patterns and floral paisley motifs are the lifeblood of NÒMARHYTHM TEXTILE. Seeing that classic floral paisley combined with the red Jumpman on the bandana is a striking visual. What is the process of taking such deeply personal, hand-drawn motifs and fusing them with one of the most recognizable logos in the world?

MN: Over the 20 years since we founded the brand, we’ve created countless textile designs, but “Draw Your Garden,” our signature bandana print, is perhaps the design that means the most to us. It has become a defining part of our brand, carrying a significance almost equal to that of our logo. Including the bandana print in this collection and combining it with the Jumpman was an idea we had from the very beginning. It’s incredibly rewarding to see a single piece of fabric transformed into something so powerful and iconic.

The bomber jacket acts as the undisputed centerpiece of this release. It really highlights your textile-first approach through embroidered floral motifs, graphic appliqués, and a beautiful printed lining. Can you walk us through the intricate construction of this specific piece and the story behind it?

MN: During our kickoff meeting with the Jordan team, the idea came up to create a uniform for a fictional team called “RHYTHM.”The moment the idea came up, the story of the collection fell into place. We could immediately envision the product lineup and even the film. This jacket brings together everything that the fictional team “RHYTHM” represents.

You’ve worked on various projects and collaborations over the years, but the scale of Jordan Brand is unique. How did the creative process and partnership with the Jordan team compare to your past collaborators, particularly when it came to preserving your intricate craftsmanship at a global production scale?

TS: The Jordan team had actually been visiting our collections in Tokyo and Paris and getting to know our work well before this project officially began. We had already spent a lot of time talking and exchanging ideas. Our approach to collaboration has always been the same. As with our other collaborators, we take the time to have meaningful conversations before a project begins, building a deeper understanding of one another throughout the process.

The Jordan team understood what lies at the heart of NOMARHYTHM TEXTILE —textiles and craftsmanship—and, importantly, how we work with those elements and bring them into a contemporary context. I think that was extremely important.

We’re very grateful for the trust they placed in us, and for how thoroughly they worked through every detail, testing and refining things again and again. Collaboration is ultimately about teamwork.

This collection reflects a shared belief in creative expression and the pursuit of greatness. Now that you have brought your distinct Tokyo-crafted perspective to an international audience, how do you see this collaboration impacting the future trajectory and creative ambitions of NÒMARHYTHM TEXTILE?

MN: To better understand Jordan Brand, we visited the campus, where we had the opportunity to explore its historical archives and materials.

It was fascinating from both a design and historical research perspective, but what resonated with us most was the brand’s open-mindedness and willingness to embrace challenges. That spirit is something we’ve always believed in and aspired to embody, and it’s something we hope to carry forward into the future.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by HYPEBEAST (@hypebeast)