Atsugi's winter in Japan: ¥24,200 silk tights in Omotesando, fleece tights that look sheer and 20 colours

In Japan, winter tights are a technical problem before they are a fashion one, and Atsugi, the Japanese legwear maker whose packs read "Est. 1947", has spent this autumn solving it from both ends. At the top, silk ribbed tights at ¥24,200 in a store in Omotesando. At the bottom, ¥2,420 fleece tights that pretend to be sheer stockings. In between, six new colours and a denier chart based on the thermometer. Here is everything the company launched between September and November, from its own press releases.

AZGI moves into a rival's store

On 18 September 2026 Tabio, the Osaka-based sock brand, reopened its Omotesando Hills store with something unusual: a new PR space for legwear brands that are not Tabio. The first guest is AZGI, Atsugi's luxury line, until the end of January 2027 (B2F, Jingumae 4-12-10, Shibuya, 11am to 8pm). In Atsugi's words, Tabio wants to "send out the appeal of Japan's legwear industry" from a street visited by people "from Japan and abroad".

AZGI debuted in autumn/winter 2025 and is what Atsugi calls its 「世界戦略ラグジュアリーブランド」, "a luxury brand for its global strategy", aimed at the high end in Japan and at the rest of Asia. The name is a spelling of "Atsugi" that is easier for foreigners to pronounce, and it also reads "A to Z". The range has 25 styles; the Luxury line costs from ¥14,300 to ¥26,400.

The AZGI display at Tabio Omotesando Hills. Courtesy of Atsugi.

The pieces arrive in stages:

• From 18 September: 10D Super Fine Sheer Glow Tights, a 10-denier sheer knitted on 480 needles, in black and five beiges with a corrective tint (pink, yellow, mint, blue, lavender), ¥4,400; Shadow Rib Knee High Socks, in Italian yarn dyed in Japan, ¥6,270.
• From mid-October: Butterfly Ribbon & Elegant Bijou Tights, sheer tights with a ribbon and five kinds of rhinestones on the left ankle, in beige or black, ¥14,300.
• From mid-November: Luxury Silk Rib Tights, with a 「表糸シルク100％」 "100% silk outer yarn", brushed to feel soft like wool, in grey only, ¥24,200; and Cashmere Rich/Silk Blend Knee Highs, 45% cashmere and 55% silk on 240 needles, which Atsugi calls the finest wool-blend knee high in its history, ¥16,500.

AZGI Butterfly Ribbon & Elegant Bijou Tights, ¥14,300. Courtesy of Atsugi.

Fake Tights: thick, but they look sheer

The most Japanese idea of the season is also the cheapest. Atsugi's Fake Tights are tights that look like thin stockings but are warm. The nylon versions, from 40 to 250 denier, knit a black yarn and a beige yarn together, so that the beige shows through like skin. On 15 October Atsugi added two fleece-lined versions with a 380-denier-equivalent fabric: the black one looks like sheer black stockings, the beige one like bare skin. Both cost ¥2,420.

Fleece-lined Fake Tights, black, ¥2,420. Courtesy of Atsugi.

Atsugi COLORS: six new shades, 20 in all

For its 80-denier colour tights, Atsugi COLORS added six shades this season under the keywords "classic", "elegance" and "modernity": forest green, milk tea, sage green, lemon yellow, baby blue and rose purple. The range now has 20 colours. They are muted, soft tones, the same direction we saw on the runways in our piece on coloured tights instead of black.

Atsugi COLORS, autumn/winter 2026. Courtesy of Atsugi.

The colours are also the reason for Atsugi's November date. The Japan Hosiery Association has celebrated "Socks Day" on 11 November since 1993, because two pairs of socks side by side look like "11 11". For the occasion, from 3 to 15 November, Atsugi COLORS is selling at the association's pop-up store at Atre Kawasaki, 10am to 9pm.

Denier by temperature

On 15 September Atsugi launched three Made in Japan tights and gave each a temperature: 80 denier for 10–15°C, 110 for 5–10°C, 150 below 5°C, in black and a light beige. The press release explains the target: foreign visitors. Atsugi cites Japan's tourism agency, which counted about ¥9.5 trillion of spending by foreign visitors in 2025, about ¥2.5 trillion of it on shopping, and recommends the tights 「日本旅行のお土産にもオススメ」, "as a souvenir of a trip to Japan". For the full denier scale, see our denier guide.

Made in Japan tights in 80, 110 and 150 denier. Courtesy of Atsugi.

Snoopy on the ankle

The lightest launch: PEANUTS tights, from 8 September, with Snoopy embroidered on the left ankle, in 30 and 80 denier, black or dark navy, ¥1,320. A ribbed version, 400-denier equivalent, adds Woodstock on the right ankle and costs ¥2,420, from mid-October.

PEANUTS tights. Courtesy of Atsugi.

Why it matters

Europe sells tights by look: sheer, opaque, coloured, patterned. Japan, at least at Atsugi, sells them by problem: cold, the skin tone that shows through, the price, the tourist who wants something made in Japan. The Fake Tights are the clearest example, a product that exists only because someone wanted the look of a 20 denier at 0°C. With AZGI and the store in Omotesando, Atsugi is betting that the same engineering can also be sold as luxury.

The photos

All photos are product and campaign images from Atsugi's press releases and online shop, published courtesy of Atsugi. Prices are those indicated by Atsugi, tax included. The cover illustration is ours.

From ¥1,320 for Snoopy to ¥24,200 for silk, Atsugi's winter covers every leg in Japan, and the most interesting pair is the one that only pretends to be sheer.