During World War II, many raw materials to make textiles could not be sourced; those that could be were rationed and directed towards the war effort. By 1941 the British Board of Trade required that a CC41, which stood for Controlled Commodity 41, was sewn into all textiles and utility clothing – it ran until 1951. Takahashi came across a Burberry trench coat through a vintage dealer in London, U.K., which had a CC41 label – amazed at how it was made to only include useful design motifs. He found beauty in the functionality. The Burberry trench inspired the CC41 Coat, which features two storm pockets on the front and raglan sleeves constructed from one panel. It is made from organic cotton eleven-ounce left-hand selvedge twill inspired by 1910s U.S. army fabric and dyed using plant and mud dyes with natural dyed nut buttons.