When Ivy Style came to Japan and put teenagers in collared shirts and khakis and madress and cable-knit sweaters,

it kicked open the door for American fashion.

But what came right on the heels of Ivy League style as the 60s turned into the 70s, was a style called Heavy Duty.

Think like hiking boots and flannel and down vests.

Some in Japan called it the outdoor version of Ivy.

Heavy duty style is the mix of outdoor and ivy.

This is Shigeru Kineko. My name is Kaneko.

And with Shiguru acting as translator is Yoichiro.

Yoichiro, Nakamura, I'm from Beams, New York office.

Both men work for Beams, a legendary lifestyle clothing retailer with over a hundred stores in Japan.

And Beams is a perfect example of a Japanese store that started in 1976 doing American

collegiate style and merged seamlessly into outdoorsy heavy duty.

Beams started from student lifestyle.

And I believe outdoor is already a part of students' lifestyle.

Shiguru is a head buyer for Beams and he's been a huge fan of American outdoor companies

since before he could buy these clothes in Japan.

He started learning these brand, Patagonia or the other outdoor brand from the magazine or catalog.

Catalog, the last, the real product comes into Japanese market.

I mean, Japan has mountains. What is Japanese outdoor wear like?

In the modern times, we always wear like American or European jacket when we go climbing mountains.

We just don't know how people used to wear in Japan when they're climbing mountains.

He's only interested in American and European.

...