I'm a traditional graphic artist at heart. I could have easily stolen a typical One Piece character Jolly Roger and slapped it on a hat but I wanted to create something and call it my own. This is when I decided to take Luffy's iconic smile and Straw Hat and turn it into a minimal abstract logo. But there's actually more to it than just Luffy: every one of the previous bearers of the Straw Hat (Joyboy, Roger, Shanks) ALL have the same iconic smile, hence the moniker 'Inherited Will'

The neatest thing is that if you have no idea about One Piece, all you'll see are coloured strokes; this is the ultimate draw for 'subtle anime inspired apparel'.

 

CONSTRUCTION

I've personally moved on from snapbacks as I have been rocking them for YEARS and wanted something a bit different; therefore I knew that a curved brim was one of the main features I wanted. When looking at different styles of baseball caps there are a plethora of them. Even when one says 5panel this could be designed in a number of different ways. However I did take inspiration on the types of caps that F1 drivers wear as I always thought they looked sleek and refined. 

When first selecting this type of 5panel I was weary about the fold style on the top-front; at first I thought it looked cheap and ruined the look of the hat. But after some deliberation and research, this fold does two things:

1) Creates a stronger side profile for the cap and adds more structure

2) This being the fifth panel means there's no seam interference with the logo unlike a 6panel cap.

Oh and the metal eyelets -- it's a small added material but this just reinforces the premium feeling of the cap (not to mention improved air circulation).

 

The other part of the construction was to make it ADJUSTABLE to fit any head size as opposed to different fitted sizes. I considered this to be a no brainer so customers didn't need to measure the size of their head.

Embroidery

I decided to invert the 3D embroidery and raise the outlines instead of the colour. Why you ask? Firstly I wanted to step outside the norm of the main colours of the logo being raised and popping out. In effect the inverted embroidery enhances the incognito look, as even from an off angle, the logo doesn't fully reveal itself.

The inside of the logo was also intentionally done using Tatami stitching rather than satin stitching. In the example below, on the left you can see the type of texture that Tatami stitching creates. The picture on the right is a Satin stitch which runs the full length of the object, creating a smoother line. 

Final Touches

I needed to add branding on the cap. The original Nakama Threads logo is adorned on the side in black so as to not disturb the overall aesthetics.

The underbrim however seals the final touch; a monochrome devil fruit pattern. At first I considered making it purple to add a pop of colour but I ultimately felt the only colour that should exist in this cap should be on the front logo.

Closing Comments

Each release and creation becomes my new favourite. The 'Inherited Will' Cap is no exception. Just a clean, aesthetically pleasing cap that is comfortable to wear and is more than meets the eye. This is not the end of 'Inherited Will' though -- the logo has extremely strong representation and I will more than likely consider putting it on other pieces of apparel.