Summary
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Between tradition and modernity
This sentence describes both Japan (where I discovered the toilets of the future between two Shinto temples) and the variety of outfits in its streets. The great classics that have dressed us for decades coexist with more modern clothes, cuts more extravagant and a few explosions of color here and there.
Among the outfits that struck me, there are of course those of denim and patina lovers like this gentleman, advisor at the Momotaro boutique in Osaka (just opposite our hostel, without wanting to make anyone jealous).
When he got it, his jacket had been a deep indigo blue. But that was before he teamed up with his washing machine and the sun's rays to sand it down. The shades were truly stunning.
There are also more "trendy" approaches, often among young people who prefer volume games to washes. And there too, it's awesome.
Even on a classic rock look, I notice pieces with a more cutting-edge design like these jeans.
After workwear, minimalism and rock, there are very cool streetwear looks like this one. Here too, great classics and more contemporary details.
On the Gorpcore and Techwear side, Benoît (our co-founder who is a fan) would have been served.
The casual chic outfits are also very well revisited. Here, with Nike (probably Panda) while we would have rather seen Stan Smith or other minimalist sneakers at home.
I saw striking outfits in all generations. This gentleman's superior class level should be proof enough.
And this is true even for the extravagant looks flirting with the Harajuku universe (a colorful fashion district in Tokyo).
Regardless of the registers, I feel that most Japanese people set the bar very high when they put together their outfits. I find there this extremeness that we know well in them. It may be the effect of the trip, but I have the impression of being much more often challenged by a look than when I am in Paris.
Japanese minimalism
Japanese aesthetics know how to draw beauty from simplicity and this is reflected in their approach to minimalist looks: plain materials, sober colors, few or no logos and plays on cuts that make everything very interesting.
The archipelago has set sail
While the slim wave is still all the rage in Europe, the Japanese seem to have been widening their pants for some time now. Not just pants, by the way. There is a real mastery of volumes in most of the looks, from top to bottom.
Which explains the omnipresence of loose coats and especially macs. I see them everywhere with, here too, controlled volumes that show the difference between an oversized cut and a garment that is too big.
This is also why our product team was inspired by Japanese Macs to create ours, the Glencoe, whose design I told you about here .
The harmony of colors
Here too, there is a real sense of detail and a thoroughness in most of the looks. And they aim very well. There are for example these two shades of beige, as beautiful as those found on their traditional architectures.
Or this continuity of gray highlighted by yellow and orange patterns for example.
America's Love
Let's summarize roughly (otherwise you're still reading this article the day after tomorrow): after the Second World War and under American occupation, the Japanese became passionate about their iconic clothes which were a vector of social valorization. Their brands and weavers began to reproduce them with the Japanese obsession for details which led, among other things, to the birth of the most beautiful denims in our eyes.
We are also very happy to be able to count Japanese denims among the jeans in our collection. If you want to take a closer look, it's here.
For those who are not yet familiar with this phenomenon or who want to know more about it, the bible that deciphers it is called “Ametora: How Japan Saved American Style” and it was written by W. David Marx.
This US heritage can be seen on the racks in stores, on the uniforms of high school students and on ootds that invited me, both indirectly and subtly, to go get dressed again.
To start with, there are obviously jeans and denim jackets. Like everywhere, but here, the latter are very numerous and more often take up the aesthetic of the type 2, a model from Levi's appreciated by purists and reinterpreted by Japanese brands. With crazy denim, of course.
Quite a few coach jackets too, including this one, worn in a look that uses colours very well (special mention to the purple Vans and elsewhere, other ideas for wearing purple and its variations await you here ).
As their name suggests, they were worn by American coaches in the 80s and then taken up by streetwear culture in the 90s.
We tell you the story of the coach jacket in the presentation of our own reinterpretation: the Oropa jacket .
Lots of traditional beige chinos, created by the British, worn by American soldiers during the Second World War and then taken up by the Japanese with particular attention paid to volumes.
Besides, military clothing is omnipresent.
M65 parkas, a model that entered service with the US army in 1965 (hence its name).
Many M51 Parkas, known as “fishtail”, mass-produced in 1951 for the US Army. At the time, they were replacing the M48 in particular for reasons of production costs.
Bomber jackets, which were worn by aviators, and deck jackets, which were worn by the US Navy.
For those who, like us, love deck jackets, we created one in collaboration with Lucallacio and we present it to you here .
Of course, he has the cargo pants. Although they were originally designed for the British Army, they were later adopted by American special units for World War II.
And here too, it’s the festival of beautiful volumes.
I also see a lot of liners, much more democratized than in France. Demonstration by this very nice Japanese couple who deserve the Legion of Honor of style.
But it's not just the American military's wardrobe that has seduced the Japanese. There's also the student's wardrobe, the holy Ivy League that has inspired them as much as it has us. It especially strikes me when I see the high school uniforms.
Yes, Japanese high school students wear penny loafers. At their age, I wore schmooves.
Who says American wardrobe says workwear looks and there too, I had a great time. And once again, they do not fall into a first degree panoply. In the outfits that touched me, there is always a garment or an accessory from another register that comes to twist the whole.
And this Mickey t-shirt reminds me of that: American pop culture seems to be very popular there too, both in outfits and in thrift stores.
And the costumes?
Lots of executives wearing fairly classic outfits, not much to report on that side BUT what about the suit worn for fun?
Well, I see very few Japanese people using traditional costume on a daily basis. Maybe because it is more sudden than in our country in a professional setting?
On the other hand, quite a few coordinated jacket and trouser sets, in more soft tailoring and workwear styles like this one:
With this kind of set, a t-shirt, a pair of canvas sneakers and the outfit is ready. Ready, differentiating and more casual than a traditional suit, with less structure and more usable pockets.
We have explored these new forms of costume in our collection ourselves. The latest set being our Kamikoshi jacket and pants set that I present to you here .
