Description
Shinsuke Takizawa is a Japanese designer and the founder of prominent streetwear label NEIGHBORHOOD.
Born in Japan’s Nagano Prefecture, Takizawa fostered an interest in fashion from a young age, and was further influenced by London’s punk rock subculture while as an exchange student in the early 1980s. Returning to Japan, Takizawa attended fashion school and moved to Tokyo to become a DJ and stylist. Having been introduced to Hiroshi Fujiwara through friends, Takizawa joined his Major Force hip-hop record label, where he would work for 8 years, eventually becoming its director.
In 1994, Takizawa resigned from Major Force to launch his own streetwear label NEIGHBORHOOD with later WTAPS designer Tetsu Nishiyama joining as creative director. As an avid motorcycle enthusiast, Takizawa created NEIGHBORHOOD to fill a gap in the market for high quality, technical motorcycle apparel, combined with military, workwear, counter-culture, Native American and outdoors themes.
As a pioneer of the Japanese Ura-Hara streetwear aesthetic, Takizawa is now considered one of the most influential figures in modern contemporary streetwear.