If the first Buffer collection introduced you to Buffy and the world Tetsu Nishiyama is building under the HUMAN MADE Inc. umbrella, the second one gives you a clearer picture of where his head is at. For drop two, Buffer is linking up with Maxell, the Japanese electronics company whose cassette tapes, batteries, and MiniDiscs were basically the soundtrack infrastructure for an entire generation.
The collection is anchored by two tees with Maxell at the center. The Mix Master tee is available in black and white and pulls from the original 1993 MD packaging, back when the MiniDisc felt like the future and making someone a playlist meant something. The second is the Max Lightning tee, which puts Maxell’s iconic ’70s 9-volt rectangular battery front and center, a motif that carried its own kind of charge in the world of music gear and handheld electronics. Both styles carry that same visual directness that made Maxell’s product design so recognizable in the first place. The socks round out the Maxell side of things, rendered through jacquard with an MD pixelated graphic.
Then there’s the Groupie tee, which runs parallel to all of this without being part of the Maxell collab. It’s an illustration by Tomo Oriyama that nods to the rise of pop’s biggest superstar in the ’80s and the devoted fan culture that formed around her… Can you guess who? Coming in pink and beige, washed-out and expressive, it fits the era Buffer is inspired by.
Also running parallel with the Maxell drop is their Buffy’s Fav tee, featuring Buffy the Mascot’s feet on the front, accompanied by “Buffer The Wizard” text. Flip it over, and the back is, you guessed it, a graphic of Buffy’s favorite snack: a carrot—perfectly fitting for the pink rabbit wizard.
The Maxell x Buffer Collection and Buffer’s two new tees are slated to drop this week on May 2nd at the Buffer Store and through their website (11am JST). Check out the lineup below.
Maxell x Buffer Collection
Release Date: May 2, 2026
Buffer Groupie Tee
Release Date: May 2, 2026
Buffy’s Fav Tee
Release Date: May 2, 2026
