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top 5 japanese brands you hate and why


Guest jmatsu

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Guest jmatsu

1.swagger- because i don't listen to kanye, nor do i like lupe fiasco.

2.takeo kikuchi- the connotation of wearing this alone.

3.rocstar- because they forgot the "k." and because the sizing is not for rockstars, but for fat people.

4.bounty hunter- malcom mclaren's worst nightmare (yeah,he probably doesn't care). plus hikaru looks ridiculous.

5.el brown rats/kiks tyo- makes me sad.

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1.swagger- because i don't listen to kanye, nor do i like lupe fiasco.

2.takeo kikuchi- the connotation of wearing this alone.

3.rocstar- because they forgot the "k." and because the sizing is not for rockstars, but for fat people.

4.bounty hunter- malcom mclaren's worst nightmare (yeah,he probably doesn't care). plus hikaru looks ridiculous.

5.el brown rats/kiks tyo- makes me sad.

I liked swagger back in pre-2000. I dunno wat the label's affiliations are now. Funny, there is a running joke around my fashion friends that Takeo Kukuchi / Melrose / MK / Comme Ca etc, basically anything you can purchase at Marui City that caters to young men is crappy salary-men's day fashion. Basically whatever salary men would wear to try to be hip on their weekend with their generic girl friend off shopping in some generic department store to buy generic clothing. I used to think that the majority of Japanese dress very well, but now I realize that they all just dress really generic and the same. Takeo Kukuchi is the poster label for medocrity/samness in Japan. It's like everybody follows in lock-step with the same lame fashion trends and every mid-priced label follows suit.

1) Hard rock fashion - Roar/Roen/Mastermind

2) Workwear/Streetwear - Neigborhood/WTaps

3) Visvismsismsdisfsmsmsdisfms

4) Nike or anything affiliated with Nike

5) Anything trying to mirrior Dior homme. That includes Hare. I'm fucking fucking sick of seeing every new label try their hand at a short-one-button-peaked blazer or military mod style. How many variations do we really need, seriously?! And to all the kiddies following this look; Sorry ur like 2-3 years late. Please go back to A&F or something...(ending elitist transmission)....

Actually, now that I think about it, I'm really really getting tired of Japanese fashion, it feels so flat and one-dimensional lately....

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Guest jmatsu
I liked swagger back in pre-2000. I dunno wat the label's affiliations are now. Funny, there is a running joke around my fashion friends that Takeo Kukuchi / Melrose / MK / Comme Ca etc, basically anything you can purchase at Marui City that caters to young men is crappy salary-men's day fashion. Basically whatever salary men would wear to try to be hip on their weekend with their generic girl friend off shopping in some generic department store to buy generic clothing. I used to think that the majority of Japanese dress very well, but now I realize that they all just dress really generic and the same. Takeo Kukuchi is the poster label for medocrity/samness in Japan. It's like everybody follows in lock-step with the same lame fashion trends and every mid-priced label follows suit.

1) Hard rock fashion - Roar/Roen/Mastermind

2) Workwear/Streetwear - Neigborhood/WTaps

3) Visvismsismsdisfsmsmsdisfms

4) Nike or anything affiliated with Nike

5) Anything trying to mirrior Dior homme. That includes Hare. I'm fucking fucking sick of seeing every new label try their hand at a short-one-button-peaked blazer or military mod style. How many variations do we really need, seriously?! And to all the kiddies following this look; Sorry ur like 2-3 years late. Please go back to A&F or something...(ending elitist transmission)....

Actually, now that I think about it, I'm really really getting tired of Japanese fashion, it feels so flat and one-dimensional lately....

i am not hating on the biz aspect of swagger/phenomenon or the people. iginition man and osumisan are really nice people. i just hate their clothing. they are a japanese brand that produce overpriced garments for a nonjapanese typical physique. i know it's the biz, but their contrived image really gets on my nerves. remember when ignition man was having a love affair with british punkrock? that season had no class or equillibrium what so ever. they are pretty much exploiting the bad aspects of hiphop.

i agree with your list.

i dislike wtaps (when i want some military shit, i'll just go to a surplus), but don't totally hate neighborhood (although i haven't purchased anything in years).

i don't like the aesthetic of visvim (this brand is just a copycat brand), but i admit that their shoes are pretty comfortable (i don't own any...)

hare...

i was considering actually buying a pair of sneakers (only sneakers) to just use as beaters outside of japan. i remember going into the store and getting embarassed about all the fucking morons shopping there (the children that shop there make me not want to be japanese). as a brand, it's not like they are getting any love from any real fashion-circles in japan. as you know their media hype is all based on yen.

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Guest jmatsu
originalfake - a lot of the designs are snooze-worthy, but I wouldn't mind if someone shipped me all of the companion series for free. they'd look nice next to my computer

I do, however, have a softspot for undercoverism

i agree. it's difficult for a toy maker/pop artist to transission to a clothing medium.

no one said anything about undercover/ism. while i can't buy his stuff, i still respect it's originality. do you remember when undercover was street?

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is roen and mastermind owned by the same people?

they put out identical black clothes with skulls and bones on them. come to think of it, jim jones should be sponsored by these guys.

they don't owned by same people

they were friends...3 of them, mastermind, roen, roar..

but somehow ...mmj and roen both make skull..broke up..

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2.takeo kikuchi- the connotation of wearing this alone.

3.rocstar- because they forgot the "k." and because the sizing is not for rockstars, but for fat people.

5.el brown rats/kiks tyo- makes me sad.

this 3....are really...really....ugly!

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i am not hating on the biz aspect of swagger/phenomenon or the people. iginition man and osumisan are really nice people. i just hate their clothing. they are a japanese brand that produce overpriced garments for a nonjapanese typical physique. i know it's the biz, but their contrived image really gets on my nerves. remember when ignition man was having a love affair with british punkrock? that season had no class or equillibrium what so ever. they are pretty much exploiting the bad aspects of hiphop.

Nope. Not hating or disagreeing with you, just stating what I know. What I really hate about the state of Japanese hip-hop/street labels is how they are trying to mirror the look of the states; all over print hoodies, one-trick pony imagery, pretty shallow concepts. You could argue that pre-2000 ura-kei was similar but what I loved about the style back then was how amateurish and broad the range of styles were; a giant free for all of colors, imagery, etc. Now, everything seems so contrived and derivative. I really wish Japanese went back to the crazy, wtf, Fruits cultural revolution I originally fell in love with. Now, its just a sea of carbon copies.

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Nope. Not hating or disagreeing with you, just stating what I know. What I really hate about the state of Japanese hip-hop/street labels is how they are trying to mirror the look of the states; all over print hoodies, one-trick pony imagery, pretty shallow concepts. You could argue that pre-2000 ura-kei was similar but what I loved about the style back then was how amateurish and broad the range of styles were; a giant free for all of colors, imagery, etc. Now, everything seems so contrived and derivative. I really wish Japanese went back to the crazy, wtf, Fruits cultural revolution I originally fell in love with. Now, its just a sea of carbon copies.

I wasn't there in the past times you are refering to, but I can only agree with your observation of today's tokyo fashion.

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Nope. Not hating or disagreeing with you, just stating what I know. What I really hate about the state of Japanese hip-hop/street labels is how they are trying to mirror the look of the states; all over print hoodies, one-trick pony imagery, pretty shallow concepts. You could argue that pre-2000 ura-kei was similar but what I loved about the style back then was how amateurish and broad the range of styles were; a giant free for all of colors, imagery, etc. Now, everything seems so contrived and derivative. I really wish Japanese went back to the crazy, wtf, Fruits cultural revolution I originally fell in love with. Now, its just a sea of carbon copies.

Even pre 2000 was like just imitation of different stuff from America. I remember outdoors was huge. Lots of climbing shorts, parkas, shoes. Then mixed in with the used boom. So you had kids in original vintage levis from the `50s with Moonstone parkas, gregory backpacks, Nike air mocs, any Nike ACGs etc..then you had UC, A Bathing Ape, Neighborhood, 40%, GoodEnough, Supreme etc just doing American basics; sweatshirts, tees, baseball jerseys, jackets, jeans etc etc. Nothing was original.

The only stuff you could say was original and not just reinterpretting American style was Yohji, Junya, Rei Kawakubo and Comme etc which didnt show up on the street around ura hara as much as the flips of American gear I mentioned above.

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^^ I disagree slightly. There were some pretty cool designers that were going at that time: 20471120, PPCM, beauty:beast (who were a bit bigger then), general research, etc. I think you had a lot more creativity in designs around that time. These days its a lot of blacks and swarovski crystals.

Japanese fashion is by nature pretty derivative. You've had designers copying eachother, the Americans and Europeans for years. What makes it interesting is that they usually put their own spin on it, eventually mutating it into something completely different. Compared to most other countries, I would still say the japanese are far ahead of the game.

As for annoying Japanese brands, my 5 for what it's worth:

1. evisu

2. fat - horrible cuts, poor quality, high prices

3. montage - same reason

4. dress camp - super expensive, very gaudy

5. on board - the lowest on the marui totem pole, they rip off the other higher-end marui designers

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Guest jmatsu
^^ I disagree slightly. There were some pretty cool designers that were going at that time: 20471120, PPCM, beauty:beast (who were a bit bigger then), general research, etc. I think you had a lot more creativity in designs around that time. These days its a lot of blacks and swarovski crystals.

Japanese fashion is by nature pretty derivative. You've had designers copying eachother, the Americans and Europeans for years. What makes it interesting is that they usually put their own spin on it, eventually mutating it into something completely different. Compared to most other countries, I would still say the japanese are far ahead of the game.

As for annoying Japanese brands, my 5 for what it's worth:

1. evisu

2. fat - horrible cuts, poor quality, high prices

3. montage - same reason

4. dress camp - super expensive, very gaudy

5. on board - the lowest on the marui totem pole, they rip off the other higher-end marui designers

beauty beast is origianally from osaka, and the only revenue-love they got was from their bags/accessories. pre 2000 era, they couldn't be considered ura-hara k (beside their origin) because they were in depatments like marui,isetan, i could have sworn that their shit was even in mitsukoshi.

although i share an equal hatred for fat, their stuff is high quality (i'll give them that). unlike other brands they have kept 90% or their production in japan.

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And to all the kiddies following this look; Sorry ur like 2-3 years late. Please go back to A&F or something...(ending elitist transmission)....

since you've said japan is 5 years ahead of everywhere else, doesn't this mean the non-jap kiddies are ahead of the curve?

Anyways, here's my list:

1. JULIUS

2. BLESS

J/K RAJIV

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Guest jmatsu
Nope. Not hating or disagreeing with you, just stating what I know. What I really hate about the state of Japanese hip-hop/street labels is how they are trying to mirror the look of the states; all over print hoodies, one-trick pony imagery, pretty shallow concepts. You could argue that pre-2000 ura-kei was similar but what I loved about the style back then was how amateurish and broad the range of styles were; a giant free for all of colors, imagery, etc. Now, everything seems so contrived and derivative. I really wish Japanese went back to the crazy, wtf, Fruits cultural revolution I originally fell in love with. Now, its just a sea of carbon copies.

pre200 urahara k was definitely different. i totally agree. cat street fruits and that whole frenchie style ruled the streets. a good example is obviously the evolution of undercover.

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since you've said japan is 5 years ahead of everywhere else, doesn't this mean the non-jap kiddies are ahead of the curve?

Anyways, here's my list:

1. JULIUS

2. BLESS

J/K RAJIV

I know you're joking, but since I've heard other people say it, I feel the need to precise it.

Bless isn't japanese!!!

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^^ I disagree slightly.

I concur on this. Yes, granted there was a lot of workwear/american street derived labels, there also was a ton of really forward thinking street labels ala Final Home. Hell, even Stussy and XLarge were different in Tokyo and would do Tokyo exclusives that you could get anywhere else. And the designs were pretty interesting for the time. I dunno what it is, but I'm finding it harder and harder to find things that are "Fresh" here. I've been recently drawn to the reu-rave, Berlin designer wave because of it...

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pre200 urahara k was definitely different. i totally agree. cat street fruits and that whole frenchie style ruled the streets. a good example is obviously the evolution of undercover.

I was talking to my college friend last week who works for Ralph Lauren in NY and is visiting Tokyo and he basically voiced that Tokyo fashion is too similar to NY, Paris, etc. nowadays. He was kinda disappointed in the fact that people dress pretty similarly to the way they do in NY now....

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pre200 urahara k was definitely different. i totally agree. cat street fruits and that whole frenchie style ruled the streets. a good example is obviously the evolution of undercover.

that wasn`t urahara kei. fruits and shit was different. that was visual kei or gothic lolita and shit - the same as you see in Takeshita still today.

pre 2000 Ura-hara kei (behind/underground harajuku) was the more adult oriented stuff all of behind where the GAP/cat street is. It was the original Nowhere, Neighborhood, Revolver, Undercover, and later Transport, SOPH/FCRB etc.

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I was talking to my college friend last week who works for Ralph Lauren in NY and is visiting Tokyo and he basically voiced that Tokyo fashion is too similar to NY, Paris, etc. nowadays. He was kinda disappointed in the fact that people dress pretty similarly to the way they do in NY now....

Nah, Japanese are still ahead I think but the rest of the world catches up faster now.

Look at sneakers -

Japs were on reissue dunks from around `98 on. It took until 2003/4 for the US heads to really take notice.

Then about 2005 the jaded Japanese kids all switched to plain old vans as the standard issue. 2007 and every kid in the world that cares is on vans now.

So with dunks/less internet access there was a 6 year lag, now with vans theres been a 1 -2 year lag.

Also I think some of the Japanese kids who also have more internet access now are following the US styles more closely too. ie Japanese kids dressed like Pharrel. Then again the Japanese kids suck up so much information/have always had so many decent magazines that they were dressing like Run DMC before most people in the west even knew who they were.

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Guest jmatsu
that wasn`t urahara kei. fruits and shit was different. that was visual kei or gothic lolita and shit - the same as you see in Takeshita still today.

pre 2000 Ura-hara kei (behind/underground harajuku) was the more adult oriented stuff all of behind where the GAP/cat street is. It was the original Nowhere, Neighborhood, Revolver, Undercover, and later Transport, SOPH/FCRB etc.

i understand what you're saying about the visual and gothic lolita shit, and i know that nowhere was an og shop in harajuku. ape and the street undercover were obviously doing well (but the production was so little!), but i personally didn"t see urahara as just a streetstyle monopoly.

remember those kids who thought they were cowboys, and various subculture/trends all happening in ura-hara... and you can't forget hitomi at milkboy (her shop may just be in harajuku, not ura-hara, but everyone was wearing her shit IN ura-hara). that's the fucking og and her stuff was more punk oriented (i know that this can be argued for undercover but...).

obviously the popular myth of urahara if we aren't getting into logistics or geography, is that of nowhere. but if you went there often or everday you'd know that the brands you mentioned didn't dominate all of ura hara.

anyway this conversation is almost impossible, because who has the right to define ura hara k? do we take it literally, ask a local, or try to interpret our own def? i am just telling you how i saw it when i was there.

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Meh, not much to add:

1. Mastermind - If I want a trucker cap with skull on it, I'll go to some junk store on Melrose or some stall on Canal street. I don't need to pay hundreds. The stuff on Canal street is often one of a kind too.

2. Goodenough - crap made for the Japanese equivalent of people who wear lots of A&F here.

3. BAPE - no explanation necessary.

4. Evisu - see BAPE

5. W/Taps

Anyway, I wouldn't say that fashion in Japan is really "ahead" of any other country. It's more like Japanese fashionheads jump on and off trends (good or bad) with enthusiasm than North American or European folks.

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Meh, not much to add:

1. Mastermind - If I want a trucker cap with skull on it, I'll go to some junk store on Melrose or some stall on Canal street. I don't need to pay hundreds. The stuff on Canal street is often one of a kind too.

2. Goodenough - crap made for the Japanese equivalent of people who wear lots of A&F here.

3. BAPE - no explanation necessary.

4. Evisu - see BAPE

5. W/Taps

Anyway, I wouldn't say that fashion in Japan is really "ahead" of any other country. It's more like Japanese fashionheads jump on and off trends (good or bad) with enthusiasm than North American or European folks.

You dont really know what you`re talking about do you?

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