New Brand: In Conversation with Found Feather

Found Feather will be the first dedicated headwear brand we’ve brought into our roster, which made it feel like an important addition for us.

As headwear enthusiasts, Liss and I have always been particularly attentive when it comes to hats. Proportion, shape and fabric are everything, and it’s only when you wear and experience a piece of headwear in person that you truly understand how it sits, feels and becomes part of your wardrobe.

Found Feather first came onto our radar last winter through conversations with customers, which eventually led to us personally picking up the City Grid Beanie. The brand instantly resonated with us, and soon after we were introduced to its founder and designer, Merv. A fellow like-minded hat lover and hip-hop enthusiast, Merv approaches headwear differently, with a clear point of view and an attention to detail that naturally connected with us.

Over the years, we’ve stocked plenty of caps and hats through the clothing brands we carry, but Found Feather approaches things from a different perspective. Headwear sits at the centre of everything they do, and you can feel that personal attention throughout the collection, from the shapes and proportions to the choice of fabrics and construction.

What drew us in most was the character of the pieces. They feel easy to wear but never generic. Headwear can completely change how someone carries themselves, and Found Feather seems to understand that balance better than most. The silhouettes have a personality without feeling loud, whether it’s a deeper fit, or a particular fabric that gives a piece an entirely different presence once worn.

Looking ahead to the AW26 collection, highlights include the City Beanie, designed for all-weather insulation with added ear flaps for extra coverage, alongside the classic Ribbed Beanie, an easy everyday option made for everything from days in the city to colder-weather excursions.

Photography by Manaya Sakaguchi (TABAN)

As we settle into Autumn Winter, we’re excited to welcome Found Feather to Pick Store and introduce a category that, until now, has never really had a dedicated home of its own within our curation.

To celebrate the arrival of Found Feather, we caught up with founder and designer Merv to learn more about the brand, his relationship with headwear and the thinking behind the collection.

Hey Merv, how are you and what have you been up to recently?

Guys! Thanks again for this…been well, busy and just in production / dad mode

haha…

First of all, can you quickly introduce yourself?

Absolutely, name is Merv Maranan. I am the creative and co owner of Found

Feather. We are a super small operation based out of Kanazawa City Japan.

Originally from Toronto Canada, been living in Japan for almost 15 years with my

wife and 2 kids.

You’re clearly someone who has loved headwear for a long time. Where did that

relationship with hats begin for you?

Honestly, when I was super young I got into skateboarding and breaking from my

older brother. The clothing / brands from 80s skateboarding definitely made a mark,

but you’re a kid so we didn’t really have money etc. Brands like Vision, Jimmy Zs,

Stussy, Vuarnet and Powell Peralta. What it did leave you with was a strong

imagination and a ton of ideas haha…I got into breaking in the 80s and then again in

the 90s during high school. 90’s hip hop culture was the best again due to its strong

DIY roots. Style was everything, equally as important as your moves. Back then it

was Polo, Tommy Hilfiger, Eddie Bauer / GAP, a ton of army surplus and a lot of

knits / women hats!

There was a period where crochet hats weren’t available and they were only in the

women’s section. So I figured that out early and found some gems! Haha…

Finally I would have to credit snowboarding also. I started in the late 90s and was

always into the gear. Naturally you always needed a beanie so design and fit was

something you had to pay attention to. This was my school.

At what point did that personal interest turn into Found Feather, and what made you

want to build a brand entirely around headwear?

Wow. Ok so I worked in fashion for a very long time. Did everything from floor staff,

to photography, PR, buying and even production. I actually had a small run at

making garments in Toronto almost 20 years ago and I learned a lot. When I met my

wife and moved to Japan, I knew at some point I wanted to start making product

again. I had amassed a massive vintage / military collection including RRL and oldUSN hats that were early inspiration.

But to be honest, it was finding out that my daughter was on her way that made me

jumpstart the brand. Thinking that if I don’t do this now, it will never happen haha but

yeah that sort of milestone moment was motivation to start the brand. And headwear

was just the easiest entry point for production (overhead vs cost) so it just made

sense. A good friend of ours helped us find our first factory…and we’ve been with

them ever since.

Fabric seems to play a big part in giving each Found Feather piece its own

character. Where do you normally begin when choosing materials for a new hat?

Amazing question. It depends on what it is (knit / cap / sun hat) but I usually go from

product to season to fabric. Not always in that order haha…

The inspiration usually comes first and then you have to reverse engineer the end

product. For example, I will get a movie reference for a hat, that hat will only look

good in said particular fabrics, and then I finalize from there. Pretty simple.

In other cases, for example, we had a crazy water color pattern rayon we used in

SS24 from Italy. I saw the swatch and knew right away I wanted to use it but I had to

visualize what would work best - it ended up being a 2 panel cap and also a sun hat

that season. Both scenarios are pretty common.

Here’s a fun fact. I am obsessed with footwear in general, so many times I will

design headwear that compliments or goes with certain shoes. Ive used sneaker

colorways as an example for color palettes in the past. I would reference footwear

because visually it opposes the hat in an outfit.

An outfit can be monotone with pop on top or bottom and it just works.

There are a lot of small details in your pieces that might not be obvious until

someone wears them. Are there any details you are particularly obsessive about?

We have evolved since but when it came to caps, we started out primarily as a full

back (elastic) designed cap, with a full leather insert brim. That came from

presenting our factory with a vintage RRL cap that I wanted to reference and that

was their solution. Elastic to solve sizing issues, and the leather insert to add a twist

to a soft deconstructed brim. I loved the idea as natural leather naturally breaks

down over time, so something that aged well sold me. Visually, I didn’t want to follow

what was standard; strap decals on the back for example. By going full back, the cap

was super clean in design and looked great. Its a cap at the end of the day, so

creatively there’s not much room to play with. But I knew I wanted something

different.

From experience the 2 stress points on the cap are typically the front and back. It’s

often where you get a line on your forehead if the brim is too hard or cap is too small

haha…or on the back if the size is too snug. This solidified the elastic back and

leather brim concept. Comfort by all means.

We quickly found some common ground through music and hip hop. Has music

played a part in shaping your own relationship with headwear or the way you

approach Found Feather?

500%

Because I grew up in skating and hip hop culture from when I was young, breaking

and also DJing, it’s been an expressive part of me that I can’t ignore. So music is

huge because I can also hear a song and develop a collection off of a beat / lyrics or

even album cover. Music along with fabrics is super crucial. Our FW26 collection

was inspired by one of my favourite groups, The Roots. Proceed was one of the first

songs that grabbed me as a youth. I was listening to the album again in the months

leading up to FW26 so it just naturally bled into the process.

Headwear can change the feeling of an outfit quite quickly. What do you think makes someone find that one hat they keep coming back to?

Comfort. From comfort comes style, then confidence, then repeated use.

For FW26 we have picked up the City Beanie and Ribbed Beanie. What were you

thinking about when developing these pieces for the season?

Thank you for this! Ok so the City Beanie was a special one because that helped

catapult us when it came out a few seasons ago. I wanted to combine a 90s hiking

style beanie with a military concept (the ear flap). I like combining ideas that don’t

normally go together. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. Luckily we found the

right weight fleece to make it work or else it would’ve been way too bulky. But ideally

a multi purpose design that can be used for someone on the go.

The Ribbed Beanie has seen some reiterations since, but it was inspired by vintage

fisherman beanies from the UK. I made adjustments to make the rib thickness

continue into the brim to give it a more uniform look; but this seasons melange yarn

mix looks amazing with this beanie for FW26 - keep an eye out! It’s an original mix of

4 hand picked colors, woven by our factory in Ishikawa Japan.

Thanks for chatting with us Merv! Lastly, when someone picks up a piece of

headwear from this collection, what do you hope they’ll notice after a few months of

wear?

The quality first and foremost. We aim to keep our end price controlled, but as a

designer - value is the most important variable that I want to load the product with so

the customer has a great impression when trying it on. Naturally compliments /

conversations spark if someone enjoys what they wear. We aim to make

conversation starters so if that leaves them with a fond memory, our job is complete.

Found Feather, the name itself derived from actually finding an Eagle feather on our

studio doorstep one morning. So we aim to share that same sentiment with others,

like finding a good luck charm. That’s the reason we also don’t use any branding /

the focus is always on form fit and detail.

Full AW26 Found Feather collection available very soon...