We Can't Say We Miss Early-2000s Japanese Streetwear Because It's Still Around
What we loved back then has evolved, but is just as hyped as ever.
You are reading your free article for this month. Login or sign up for a free account now for unlimited reading.
Remember these guys?
Embarrassing, right? But believe it or not back in 2005, NIGO, A Bathing Ape and, yes, the Teriyaki Boyz epitomized the pinnacle of what was then and now still referred to as “streetwear.”
A long time ago it was all about loose, baggy jeans, vibrant colors and patterns, mesh caps, and patent leather sneakers. Excess was key, as was a sense of shock and awe, loud and proud, distressed and technical. Back then things were simpler, when we didn’t have pin-rolling, more than one zipper on any given garment, or sneakers made out of household yarn and NASA-approved cushioning.
Fast forward 10 years to 2016 and where is Japanese streetwear now? It’s still here. Brands for the most part haven’t drastically changed their aesthetics and products, and it’s still very possible to walk into your nearest BAPE STORE to purchase a shark hoodie or camo “Biggie” jacket. And that’s the point; a lot of people who were fortunate enough to be into streetwear since then talk about “the good old days” and how they miss what Japanese streetwear meant, but the styles are still in stores. Whether or not it’s selling now and if it’s popping or not isn’t relevant, but what can be conveyed is that while the Teriyaki Boyz’s “HEARTBREAKER” is nostalgic, you can’t say you miss the streetwear in it if it’s still around and being rocked by your peers.
If however you weren’t into streetwear 10 years ago and are only finding out about HYPEBEAST and the streetwear/fashion/culture blogs on the internet now, it may be hard to imagine what Japanese streetwear was like. Getting into it while living in Japan really opened my eyes to what streetwear is and subsequently landed me in a position that’s providing this information to you now. And while this editorial may make me and my colleagues feel like proverbial dinosaurs, let’s take a trip down memory lane with three key examples in tops, bottoms, and footwear because what you’ll find out about your favorite Japanese brands and the styles they represented back then are still around today. Call this a nostalgia piece or a retrospective, but just don’t call it a memorial.
Yes, that’s Kanye West. A far cry from how you see him now, sure, but in 2007-2008, Mr. West was associated very closely with A Bathing Ape, so much as to even recording a song with the aforementioned Teriyaki Boyz. NIGO, at the helm at the time, was friends with all of the big players back then and who are still in the game now — Pharrell who earlier in 2016 announced he’d be taking back control of BBC and ICECREAM showcased everything great about these brands, as well as BAPE, in his 2003 “Frontin’” video; Edison Chen whose CLOT brand is still making moves to this day was a huge component in bringing Japanese streetwear brands like visvim and White Mountaineering into popularity; and Lil Wayne illustriously wore a fire-red BAPE down jacket and upper-echelon-of-hype purple camo BAPE hoodie in his “Hustler Musik” video long before his ongoing work with 2 Chainz.
These key influencers may not be rocking and representing the Ape today, but visit any BAPE STORE across the globe and the hype is still there. Proof is in the pudding when you look at the brand’s official Shibuya location’s Instagram and the lines it draws every Saturday. The label announced a collaboration with Dragon Ball that primarily includes graphic tees and sweats, just like how it probably would’ve been executed a decade ago. Shark parkas and BAPE’s exclusive camo patterning lives on as still one of the hottest hoodie combos you can buy (as seen above in the main gallery which was shot during the hectic The Life of Pablo pop-up), and while patent leather BAPESTAs may not be trendy and so readily available anymore, the style of color-blocking and loud, vibrant low tops are seen still roaming the streets of Tokyo, Paris and New York. As for modern influencers, Tyler, the Creator had his run with the simian brand for some time before he made clothing for his streetwear staple Odd Future brand, and none other than Travis Scott performed to a shoulder-to-shoulder-packed party commemorating BAPE STORE NY’s 10th anniversary, along with a black and gold special edition shark hoodie under his moniker.
Those Balmain Biker jeans you wear have a lot of heritage, but back then it was known as NEIGHBORHOOD Savage Denim. Originally released in 2003, the bottoms were excessive to say the least — inches upon inches of distressed, washed, bleached and torn/repaired denim fabric presenting itself on each pair as tokens of style. The hottest release at the time, as many would agree, were the Flash Savage denim seen above; skull and Ace of Spades embroidery accompanied by lightning bolt stitching as a whole was a mess to look at for the minimalistic, but kids all over Japan hounded their local HOODS location with queues numbering in the hundreds. If you wanted raw denim, that didn’t mean you missed the point; NBHD knew they had to cater to the simple streetwear fans, thus “ranking” their jeans from Savage Level 1 (raw), Level 2 (washed), Level 4 (Savage), and a late appearance of Level 3 (a raw base with washed elements) that spawned after the success of the Supreme x NEIGHBORHOOD Volume 2 collaboration. Cuts came in three variations: narrow, medium and basic. While narrow tended to sell out the quickest, people weren’t against purchasing medium and basic cuts because, as mentioned before, streetwear had no dictation towards how tight jeans had to be. And that was that; streetwear elite knew NEIGHBORHOOD for its denim, and the brand and distressed jeans were thus synonymous.
Present day, NEIGHBORHOOD still sells its renown Savage Denim in stores and online. Over time however the “savageness” has admittedly subdued itself but the Japanese brand never let go of the ethos that made its ultra-distressed jeans popular. The latest pair, known as Knockdown Savage, shows off its prowess with wash and the same level of attention to its method of repair detailing. “Crash” (a Japanese way of saying worn down to the threads and repaired with patching) wear still looks great for the biker look, and the various cuts — now with even more choices that allow for room in the thighs or crotch — still offer a truly customized look. Bonus; Balmain biker denim comes in at a whopping $1,500 USD while NEIGHBORHOOD’s offerings, even after import fluctuation, is still in three-digit territory.
In comes visvim into the picture. Perhaps the FBT isn’t the best example of what mid ’00s Japanese streetwear represented (not as loud as the above two brand examples), but it is quite interesting to see that the moccasin sneaker debuted back near 2005 and is still one of the most coveted sneaker silhouettes in 2016. When visvim brought the “Fun Boy Three” to the market, its fringe and at-the-time high quality Korean construction spoke volumes as to what would be hot in the realm of footwear which was still being dominated by Nike. At first it took a while for sneakerheads to adopt the look but as time went by and styles evolved to incorporate more outside-of-the-box materials and concepts (like the awesome AMDO-Folk fringe seen above made of a hand-printed canvas) the FBT became the resellers’ and influencers’ (like Yeezy, Rihanna and John Mayer) outlet of choice for over-hyped footwear.
visvim continues to pump out the FBTs by the whatevers — that is to say, quantity doesn’t matter because the stock sells out in minutes when the web shop hits Japan and stores still see queues for the suede or exotic leather iterations (last pair saw the moc-sneak using skin from elk). Presently the brand is still holding onto the classic silhouettes like the SHAMAN seen above for a classic, timeless look that isn’t too far off from what was available in ‘06. Perhaps visvim feels the classic are best or maybe the label knows that its fans still strive for the look — whatever it is, the FBT is what it was back then; just an all-around style and look that’s still highly regarded and wanted.
