A jacket with built-in electric fans designed by Japanese fashion brand Anrealage keeps staff cool at the Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation pavilion at the Osaka Expo.
The jacket is one of five items developed by Anrealage founder Kunihiko Morinaga to be worn by staff at the NTT Pavilion, which was designed around the theme of Parallel Travel.
Anrealage has designed the uniforms for Osaka Expo’s NTT Pavilion
The pavilion aims to depict the future of communication, and Morinaga applied the same idea when designing the uniforms.
“These clothes transcend division and disparity, connect the dots and expand human potential by sharing senses,” the designer explained.
Electric fans are integrated into the jacket to cool the wearer
“Rather than material objects, they are clothed in an immaterial sensation like the wind,” he added. “Through clothing, I created an experience of travelling through time and space and connecting with distant beings.”
The standout item in the collection is the jacket, which incorporates a pair of electric fans that blow air between the body and the clothing to cool the wearer during hot weather.
The studio also designed other items including a loose-fitting unisex polo shirt
The internal airflow causes the garment to billow, creating an amorphous “cloud-like” silhouette that Morinaga said represents the way technologies connect people and transcend boundaries.
The jacket was developed in collaboration with air-conditioned workwear manufacturer Kuchofuku. The company, founded by former Sony engineer Hiroshi Ichigaya, creates fan-cooled clothing as an alternative to air-conditioning entire buildings.
The battery-operated technology circulates air around the upper body, using vaporisation from sweat to cool the wearer before releasing the air through the collar and cuffs.
Alongside the jacket, Anrealage designed a polo shirt with loose-fitting proportions that allow it to fit any gender or body shape.
All incorporate a pattern of blue dots that suggest water droplets
The studio also created a sling bag, bucket hat and logo badge, all of which feature a pattern of blue dots that vary in size and hue.
The pattern resembles water droplets merging to form an array of clouds, reinforcing the notion of connection. It was printed using a sustainable technology called Forearth that minimises water usage to almost zero, the company claims.
The jacket is constructed using a breathable and fast-drying fabric called Azek from Shikibo Ltd, while the bucket hat and bag are woven from Muron – a recycled yarn made using discarded fishing nets.
Air-conditioned workwear manufacturer Kuchofuku provided the fans
The badge utilises a photochromic material that changes colour when exposed to ultraviolet light. Morinaga previously used the fabric to create all-white garments that change to reveal brightly coloured patterns.
A total of 300 jackets and 2,000 polo shirts are being manufactured for use during the Expo, which is being held in Osaka from 13 April until 13 October 2025.
Kunihiko Morinaga founded Anrealage in 2003. The brand’s name was created by combining “A Real, Unreal and Age”. His fashion designs often feature bold colours and patchwork patterns, with creative shapes and novel technologies adding a surreal twist.
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