HUMAN MADE'S SOOTOME TEE COMES IN TWO, BIG VS SMALL

Human Made put a new Keiko Sootome T shirt on sale on Sunday, November 1, 2026, through the Human Made Online Store, in two versions tied to one theme: Big vs Small. The announcement labels it ♯49 in the collaboration's run of items, and it landed on the first of the month, the day this series appears every month, one day after the Saturday October 31 drop that Human Made had added to Season 32.

Two Drawings, Two People, One Mountain Seen From Far Away

The shirt pairs two illustrations by Sootome, and the release text says the two are linked by the Big vs Small theme. Her own note on the release is about Mt. Fuji: she says she would rather view it from a distance than climb it.

In the English version of the announcement, Sootome explains: "I'd much rather view Mt. Fuji from afar than climb it. There's a beauty that can only be seen from a distance." She goes on to say she always feels she is searching for something that is still out there, and that she needs the courage to get closer today.

The note ends on the drawings themselves. "I drew two people dreaming of what might emerge upon the moment of their discovery," she says. The release text gives no fabric, colorway or price for the shirt, so the theme and the two figures are what the announcement offers about the object.

Self Taught, Then a Best Seller in 2002

Keiko Sootome was born in Yamaguchi prefecture and became an illustrator by teaching herself after she graduated from university. In 2002 she released the book New Unit through Fusosha Publishing, and it became a best seller.

Her work has not stayed on the page. The profile in the announcement lists television, radio and theater alongside illustration and essays, and describes the partnership with the brand as reaching past T shirts into animated LINE stickers. A separate Human Made x Sootome LINE emoji set is on sale through the LINE STORE, which puts two products from one partnership on two different platforms at the same time.

That spread matters for how the monthly shirt reads. An illustrator with a 2002 best seller, a television career and a sticker set in chat apps also has a shirt come out every month at Human Made.

January 24 and 25 Gave the Series a Gallery

Human Made and Sootome held a show called LOVE at OTSUMO PLAZA in Minami Aoyama, Tokyo, on January 24 and 25, 2026. It put archived illustrations from the collaboration on the wall next to pieces from Sootome's own collection.

The weekend also included a live portrait session by Sootome and a shop in shop marking the 10th anniversary of her online store, Sootome Hyakkaten. Exclusive items were LOVE themed T shirts, drawstring bags and pins, and Human Made's Season Gift Collection was offered for early pre sale. Human Made's own page describes the collaboration as most notably the T shirt series released on the 1st of every month, and the exhibition put that archive on a wall for two days in January.

A Sunday Release Inside a Saturday Season

Human Made's Season 32 opened on August 8, 2026, and its clothing has moved mostly on Saturdays at 11:00am JST. HM Sunglasses #1 went on sale Saturday, October 3, the Duck Coverall Jacket followed on Saturday, October 10, and the October 31 Saturday was announced without naming a single item.

The Sootome shirt does not follow that rhythm. It follows the calendar, so it fell on a Sunday this month, and the announcement names the Human Made Online Store as its sale point. It does not mention the Harajuku flagship that Human Made Tokyo opened on September 26, where the brand held exclusive items of its own.

Human Made already runs a numbered Graphic T Shirt line on its Saturdays, and a Graphic Tee on September 5 was the fifth Saturday product release from the label since late June. The Sootome release is a different kind of numbered item: it is tied to the first of the month, carries a number in its title and comes with a short note from the artist.

For this month the note is the whole description of the shirt: Mt. Fuji seen from afar, two people looking for something, and a Big vs Small theme with two versions.