BODY: Slimes are climbing back into your wardrobe. On July 28, Mash Style Lab announced that its premium roomwear brand Gelato Pique will launch a second collaboration collection with Square Enix's legendary RPG series Dragon Quest, going on sale August 7 at Gelato Pique stores nationwide and through the brand's official online store.
The first Gelato Pique × Dragon Quest team-up was a runaway hit, and a sequel was almost inevitable. Gelato Pique built its reputation on impossibly soft "mokomoko" fleece loungewear, making it a natural fit for a franchise whose most iconic mascot — the ever-grinning blue Slime — practically begs to be rendered as a plush hoodie.
While Mash Style Lab is keeping the full lineup close to the chest ahead of launch, collaborations like this typically span both women's and men's sizing, plus accessories and small goods designed to move fast. Expect Slime motifs front and center, alongside nods to Dragon Quest's instantly recognizable monster roster and its warm, storybook art direction courtesy of Akira Toriyama's original character designs.
The August 7 release lands squarely in the middle of Japan's summer gift season, and given how quickly the first collection sold through, shoppers hoping to secure pieces will want to move quickly when the online store opens.
The insider take
Here in Tokyo, Gelato Pique isn't just sleepwear — it's a cultural shorthand for aspirational cozy living, a fixture of department-store gifting and Instagram "room aesthetic" posts. Pairing that with Dragon Quest, a national institution that transcends the usual gamer demographic, is a shrewd move: it reaches the millions of Japanese adults who grew up on the series but wouldn't be caught dead in a graphic gaming tee. The result is nostalgia you can actually wear to bed — and that's exactly why these drops vanish so fast.
Originally reported by 4Gamer.net − 最新記事 (Japanese).