Bodysong – The New Tokyo Street Silhouette

We may have seen the excellent showroom from Bodysong, runurunu and Balmung previously, but while that gives you an idea of the aesthetic and ideas behind the work, it doesn’t give you a visceral taste of what it is actually going to look like worn.  Add to that most lookbooks being overly posed, and most street snaps often having too much of the wearer’s identity in them to really relate back to the designer’s original vision and sometimes it is really hard to communicate what is on the precipice of happening on the streets of Tokyo.  So it is with absolute delight that I wake up one morning to Bodysong’s latest visuals in the mail, a snapshot if you will, into what the future of Japanese street style is going to look like later this year, styled for the street and shot on the street.  It is a perfect example of everything I am seeing brewing in menswear right now – massive shoulders, masculine arms and column-esque silhouettes through drop-crotch shots and wrap skirts.  Yes, this might not be all that new, but it is the exaggeration of all those trends on a street level that for me, makes this the one A/W collection you need to see to understand where Japanese fashion is heading right now.

Add to that amazing prints from the designer Shunsuku Aoki and in collaboration with Yoshirotten (together they are Bodyrotten) and Bodysong has taken this silhouette that we have seen in high-fashion and brought it to a level that is relatable to the street.  It is odd to think that this kind of look would actually stand out more with the minimalism of Rick Owens in Tokyo, but in referencing street level fashion in prints, worn vintage fabrics and ethnic fabrics that have been a feature of underground culture (and particularly the techno scene that Julius grew out of), Bodysong has made this a look that you can happily swan around Tokyo in – albeit subversively.

Join me in a walk through Shibuya at night, where this new tribe of Tokyo fashion is waiting to emerge:

If you want to see more, well, I wish there was a good site I could refer you to, but I am afraid there is nothing official with any up to date information at the moment.  Rest assured that we will have any updates as they happen, and the latest issue of Huge has an introduction to the brand with illustrations from KOU if you are able to get your hands on a copy.