Julius_7 by Tatsuro Horikawa: When Goth meets Techno
Julius_7 is a cult-favorite Japanese dark wear brand that has been projecting a consistent style for the past 18 years.
Similar to the early aesthetics of Rick Owens, Julius puts forward a black based, gothic, avant-garde style that strays away from the mainstream definition of beauty.
The founder of Julius, Tatsuro Horikawa, once remarked that the designing process of clothes is similar to the composing of techno music. Originally from Kyushu, Japan, Tatsuro was amazed by the underground scene of Tokyo. As Tatsuro indulged more in the Tokyo nightlife, he found himself producing videos to play alongside DJ gigs, an activity that would later develop into his passion for making clothes.
Blessed with an artist’s instinct, Tatsuro eventually started expanding his creativity from visual arts to the next context, fashion design. He launched his first clothing label, NUKE, in 1996. At this stage, NUKE had already embodied the now-iconic Julius look, with the drop crotch trousers and long slim blazers, the label was offering a fairly unprecedented look at the time.
Unfortunately, Tatsuro decided to end NUKE after 5 years of running the brand and launch Julius, which began as an agency promoting local creatives rather than a clothing brand.
In 2004 Tatsuro’s passion for fashion design was re-ignited. This time around, he would use Julius directly as his new label, and the rest is history. Already geared with a distinct style and a considerable following from his previous label, Julius found instant success. Shortly after 4 years, Tatsuro made it to what is a milestone for all designers in the world: Paris Fashion Week.
Some of Julius’s most iconic designs include the military-inspired bondage pants, the leather gun holster jacket, and distressed knits. All of which aligns with the label’s dystopian, gothic look, which was especially trend setting in the early 2010’s. In 2019, Julius came out with a diffusion line named Julius Permanent, where they’d reissue the most desirable items from the early days of the brand. What are your favorite looks from the brand?
