bobbyhundreds: This photograph is from 2001, Osaka, Japan. I was...

By :Anwar Washington 0 comments

This photograph is from 2001, Osaka, Japan. I was in the Amerika-mura district, which was heavily infatuated with American hip-hop culture and fashion at the time; the overly-tanned Ganguro girls and dreadlock extensions were exemplary of that.

This kid’s style was indicative of where Japanese Streetwear was at for the period, and where American Streetwear was next headed over the course of the decade. Brands like Fiberops, Recon, A Bathing Ape, and Stussy were widely influential in this region of the world at the turn of the millenium. The mesh trucker caps (pre-Paris Hilton) were king, puffy hi-tops, excessively washed baggy denim (skinny pants were off in the distance), and printed short-sleeve wovens were also in rotation. In response to the mainstream urban brands that relied heavily on classic colors or earth tones, millenial Streetwear played with pops of fluorescents and pastels, a trend that gradually apexed with the all-over-print Skittles craze 5 years later.

Anyways, I really enjoyed and miss this era of Streetwear, where the whole world was watching Japan. By the time America really caught on, Japan was over it and had either moved onto a recession-minded non-fashion or the Americana trends, which the States also ended up biting a few years too late as well.

The Japanese are always the ones to look to because they care. Their attention to detail is meticulous and appreciation for product - from the packaging to the wearability - is painstaking. Trends start here; the sun always rises in the east.

Tags :

categories : Blog