THE PORK PIE

For Takuma Arakaki, the pork pie is the shape that makes the most sense. It is classic, but not too formal. It has character, but does not ask too much of the person wearing it. It can work with a T-shirt, jeans, and sandals. It can also work with a jacket, a dress, or something more styled. For someone who is not used to wearing hats, it offers an easy place to start. For someone who already loves hats, it leaves enough room to make it personal.

That balance is the center of THE PORK PIE, whose motto is clear: “PORK PIE ONLY.”

Rather than making many different types of hats, Takuma-san focuses on one shape. Having worn and studied various silhouettes - including center-creased fedoras, traditional American dress hats, Italian forms, and formal classic shapes - the pork pie stood out as the easiest to bring into everyday life.

If he made every kind of hat, he felt the brand would end up doing the same thing as other hat makers. By choosing only the pork pie, he could narrow the focus and make the idea clearer.

One of the most important details is what he removes. Traditional hats often have a ribbon around the crown. Takuma-san takes that away, leaving space for the wearer to add a pin or wrap a bandana. The hat is not completely finished when it leaves his hands. 

Takuma-san was born and raised in Okinawa, where he also went to university. His first interest in clothing began around middle school. At the time, Okinawa’s strong American influence shaped much of what he saw around him. He was drawn to B-boy style, hip-hop, oversized T-shirts, oversized pants, tracksuits, and clothing with a rougher edge. 

After university, he moved to Fukuoka and joined an apparel company as a new graduate. He stayed there for eight years. During that time, he worked as a shop manager and buyer, gaining experience both on the sales floor and in product selection. Later, after returning to Okinawa, he worked for two years at a handmade hat brand that offered full custom orders.

Takuma-san sources from specialist suppliers, including a straw supplier in Asakusa that handles materials from Japan and abroad. For winter, Takuma-san works mainly with felt, including wool and rabbit, bringing the shape closer to the needs of colder weather and heavier clothing. For its summer hats, THE PORK PIE uses straw, evoking a seasonal quality, especially in Okinawa, where the summer season is long. 

His shop, New Light, is also in Okinawa, where Takuma-san lives and works. Okinawa is smaller than Tokyo, and the fashion population is more limited, but his business thrives on local customers who become regulars through direct relationships and tourists who love clothing. 

The business depends on several groups working together: local customers, tourists, online customers in Japan, and customers overseas. That same mix of local and wider movement now brings him to Los Angeles, where THE PORK PIE pop-up shop is currently on display at Nepenthes Woman Los Angeles.

THE PORK PIE is built around one form, but that form is not narrow. It can be plain, customized, casual, dressed, warm, light, local, or far from home. It can be a first hat for someone who has never known how to wear one. It can be another hat for someone who already understands them.

Pork pie only. But within that, plenty of room.