A distinctive collaboration between Japanese label KATO’ AAA and historic French workwear manufacturer DOLMEN, combining Japanese vintage-inspired design with genuine French workwear production.

Cut from 100% cotton in a vivid workwear orange, the jacket follows the traditional French chore-jacket format with a pointed collar, button front and large lower patch pockets. The relatively compact body and clean construction give it a more considered silhouette than a conventional oversized utility jacket.

The interior carries both the original DOLMEN “Fabriqué en France” label and the NAVY & GROUND / KATO’ AAA collaboration label. The garment is also identified by product code NJ231281.

One of the strongest details is the original removable DOLMEN paper chest tag, featuring archival-style French graphics referencing the company’s workwear history and the wording “Le Roi Vêtement de Travail Depuis 1922” and “Fabriqué en France et fier de l’être.”

KATO’ AAA’s design philosophy centres heavily on interpreting vintage clothing, fabrication, finishing and traditional garment details through a Japanese menswear lens. The NAVY & GROUND concept is particularly associated with military and utilitarian references. Contemporary Japanese material describing the AAA line similarly emphasised fabric, processing and vintage-derived detailing.

For this collaboration, KATO’ AAA used French DOLMEN workwear as the foundation rather than merely recreating French workwear in Japan. Other documented pieces from the collaboration were described as using DOLMEN bodies and dense French workwear fabrics with colours specially commissioned by KATO’ AAA.

The result sits particularly well alongside French workwear, Japanese heritage menswear, military-inspired clothing and contemporary chore jackets.

This example is particularly desirable because it remains brand new with its original tags, giving the piece a much cleaner presentation than the worn examples normally encountered.

DOLMEN is a historic Breton workwear manufacturer established in Guingamp, Brittany in 1922. The company developed clothing for professional and industrial use, including garments for tradespeople, maritime workers and other working environments, with manufacturing centred around the Guingamp area.

Its longstanding emphasis has been robust woven workwear and French manufacturing, making the company particularly relevant to collectors of genuine European utility clothing rather than fashion reproductions.

KATO’ AAA / NAVY & GROUND

KATO’ AAA is a Japanese menswear label with a strong focus on vintage clothing references, fabrication, garment washing and traditional workwear and military details.

The interior label on this jacket describes AAA as clothing designer KATO himself likes to wear, drawing on his knowledge of textiles, production processes and finishing while combining vintage clothing references with original design.

NAVY & GROUND was used within the AAA universe to explore uniform and military references — “Navy” referencing naval colours and garments, and “Ground” referencing army-oriented khaki and olive utility clothing.

The DOLMEN collaboration therefore makes particular sense: an established French workwear manufacturer providing the authentic manufacturing base, interpreted through KATO’s Japanese heritage-menswear perspective.