The Japanese fashion brand MAYLA visited the German convention AnimagiC for the first time, showcasing and selling its collaboration items with franchises such as Black Butler, Attack on Titan, Hatsune Miku, NieR:Automata, and Violet Evergarden.
During their stay, we discussed with MAYLA’s General Manager, Natsumi Ikegami, about their approach to collaborations with anime franchises, how they translate anime and videogame aesthetics into their designs, and their plans for the future.
Q: What does the name “MAYLA” stand for?
A: MAYLA is the name for the “little me” who does not yet have a name to begin her story. The girl who lives within each of us is different. And one day, we discover the “little me” within ourselves and give that girl a name of our own. Until that name is found, MAYLA is her temporary name. That is why we define MAYLA as the “first name” given to a girl at the beginning of her story.
Q: Your products blend European and Japanese aesthetics. Why do you think this combination works?
A: At MAYLA, many of our designs combine the delicacy, meticulous craftsmanship, and attention to detail associated with Japanese creation with classical and richly decorative aesthetics. We believe that emotions such as excitement, a sense of “kawaii,” and the appreciation of beauty can be shared across cultures and borders.
Meeting European customers in person was especially meaningful for us. We were impressed to see that the intricate details, use of color, and distinctive world-building that our Japanese customers appreciate also resonated very strongly with customers in Europe.
Q: How did you decide to start collaborating with video game and anime franchises?
A: We believe that anime and video games are part of the “Japanese culture” that Japan proudly shares with the world, and are among the outstanding industries that represent Japan. The rich stories and worlds that these works possess, together with the creativity we have cultivated through our brand, Mayla Classique, to express fantasy and excitement through fashion—by bringing these two elements together, we believe we can create new value unlike anything that has existed before and share it with the world from Japan. It was the great potential we saw in this idea that inspired us to begin these collaborations.
Q: From NieR:Automata to Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure: your products are inspired by a wide range of franchises. How do you select the brands to collaborate with?
A: One of the things we value most is whether we can express the appeal of a work in a new way through MAYLA’s design and craftsmanship. It is also very important that we ourselves have genuine respect for the work. Beyond the compatibility between a title and MAYLA, we believe that without a deep understanding of and affection for the work, it would be difficult to translate into our products the subtle details that fans hold dear.
Q: What are the difficulties you face when translating an anime aesthetic to your products?
A: The greatest challenge is balancing the identity of the original work with the beauty of the product as a fashion item. If our goal were simply to make the original work easily recognizable, we could use the characters or logos as they are. However, at MAYLA, we value an approach where the product appears at first glance to be a beautiful fashion item, while fans who look closely at the details can recognize, “This is that element from that character.” Finding that balance is both one of the challenges and one of the most interesting aspects of MAYLA’s collaborations.
Q: You have collaborated with titles featuring a classic European aesthetic—such as Bungo Stray Dogs, Black Butler, or Violet Evergarden. Does that make the design process easier or does it bring a different set of challenges?
A: MAYLA specializes in classical and highly decorative designs, so there is a very strong affinity between our aesthetic and works with those kinds of worlds. At the same time, precisely because there is such a natural compatibility with their worlds, it is important not to simply create a design that “looks the part,” but to consider how MAYLA can express the unique beauty that exists only within each particular work. For example, we analyze the various elements that make up a work—such as its colors, costumes, motifs, and narrative background—and reconstruct them as MAYLA products.
Q: You also collaborate with a lot of shonen titles while making women’s footwear. Has the customer turned out to be who you expected?
A: The main target audience of a particular work does not necessarily match the customers who purchase MAYLA products. Some customers discover MAYLA through their love for a particular work and take the opportunity to try fashion items they might not normally choose. Conversely, some customers are first drawn to the design of the product itself and then become interested in the original work. We feel that IP collaborations have the power to connect fans of the original works with fans of fashion.
Q: How do you identify the key elements needed to capture an anime’s identity in your designs?
A: We begin by developing a deep understanding of the work and its characters. We consider not only their colors, costumes, and symbolic motifs, but also each character’s personality, their role within the story, and what fans find appealing about them. Rather than incorporating every element, we identify the essential details that make us feel, “Without this, the character would no longer be who they are,” and translate those elements into the design.
Q: When you start a new collection, what comes first: a character, a scene, or a silhouette you already want to make?
A: This varies depending on the work, the product, and the inspiration the designer draws from the work. Sometimes the process begins with a character, while at other times, inspiration comes from an iconic scene, costume, or motif. At MAYLA, rather than applying character elements to an existing product, we place great importance on starting with the question, “If MAYLA were to express this work, what kind of product should it be?”
Q: Has there been a design you were satisfied with but the licensor asked you to change it? What was the reasoning?
A: Of course. In IP collaborations, it is extremely important not only to create something that we consider beautiful, but also to properly respect and preserve the settings and world of the original work and its characters. Licensors are the people who have carefully protected these works over many years, and through the review and approval process, they sometimes help us recognize important aspects of the work that we may not have noticed on our own.
For this reason, we do not see the review process simply as making “corrections.” Rather, we see it as a process of working together with licensors to further refine and improve the product, in order to bring even greater excitement and emotion to the fans.
Q: Having recently attended AnimagiC, how was your experience interacting with European fans?
A: AnimagiC was an incredibly valuable opportunity for MAYLA to interact directly with customers in Europe. What was particularly memorable was hearing customers who were seeing MAYLA products for the first time describe them with words such as “beautiful” and “art.”
Although Japan and Europe have different cultures and languages, the way people react when they see something beautiful, the excitement they feel the moment they discover an item from a work they love, and the expressions on their faces were no different from those of our customers in Japan. Being able to experience firsthand that people can connect with and enjoy the world of MAYLA across countries and cultures was deeply moving for us.
Q: What do you think clicks better with European consumers? What similarities do you notice between Japanese and European audiences?
A: Although we cannot judge the entire European market based on AnimagiC alone, we felt that there was a particularly strong response to highly decorative products that have a distinctive and special appeal at first glance. This time, many customers also tried on original Mayla Classique products, not only our IP collaboration items.
It was particularly impressive for us to realize that even without anime or characters as a shared language, the creativity and design that MAYLA has cultivated in Japan resonated with European customers as well. At the same time, we also noticed significant similarities between customers in Japan and Europe: their love for their favorite works and characters, and the excitement they feel through fashion.
Regardless of country, the joy of discovering subtle motifs incorporated into a product, the passion with which people talk about their favorite characters, and the sense of excitement they feel when wearing beautiful fashion all felt remarkably similar.
Q: Do you know whether more customers actually wear these, or do many keep them as collectibles? Does that affect how you design them?
A: We have both types of customers. Some enjoy our products as part of their everyday fashion, while others treasure and preserve them as collectible items that embody the world of a particular work. For this reason, at MAYLA, we value both “the joy of wearing our products” and “the satisfaction of simply owning them.”
By designing not only the products themselves, but also their packaging and even the experience of displaying them, we hope that everyone can enjoy MAYLA as part of their everyday lives in their own way—not limited to actually wearing the products, and regardless of gender or age. Being able to bring MAYLA into people’s everyday lives in these different ways is a great joy for us.
Q: Do you have any plans to expand your reach to overseas audiences in the future?
A: Yes. International expansion is one of the areas that MAYLA intends to focus on particularly strongly going forward. In 2026, following our POP-UP in Taiwan, we exhibited at AnimagiC in Germany, increasing our opportunities to interact directly with customers overseas. Looking ahead, we are considering participating in anime and fashion events in various countries, including across Europe.
We also do not want our international expansion to be limited to simply selling products from Japan. We hope to work together with local companies, creators, event organizers, and others who connect with the world of MAYLA to create new stories and projects together. Our experience at AnimagiC has made us even more interested in the European market. The voices and reactions we receive from people around the world are what inspire us to take on new challenges and venture into new places.
So please, invite MAYLA to your city anytime.
We want to thank MAYLA for sharing with us some insights into their adaptation process, as we were excited to see firsthand their unique approach.
If you have the opportunity, don’t miss their new store in Harajuku, Tokyo!
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