The Living Ura-Hara Archive - Meet MIMIC
NIGO, Hiroshi Fujiwara and Jun Takahashi. You probably know them as some of the pioneers of ‘UraHara’ fashion, a streetwear movement that thrived in 90s Tokyo.
What you might not know is that there are countless other individuals just as responsible for the rise of this trend that remain hidden beneath the surface or more realistically, buried alive in mountains of logo T’s and vintage denim, that is, until today.
Meet Daisuke Noda and Nobuyuki Tooyama, former Ollie Magazine Editors and current members of the online media MIMIC. Both having an encyclopedic knowledge when it comes to the topic of streetwear, these two have lived through the golden ages of Ura-Harajuku, going to the clubs when Hiroshi Fujiwara wasn’t yet the ‘HIROSHI FUJIWARA’ he is today, Jun Takahashi aka Jonio was active with his band Tokyo Sex Pistols, when all the big brands we know today were just kicking off.
Nobuyuki Tooyama, former freelance writer and editor-in-chief of numerous culture magazines as well as founder of production company +chip and Daisuke Noda, editor and founder of brand consulting agency FANATIC met each other working for OLLIE, an influential streetwear and skater magazine that would go on to build a cult like following. Now, they have launched MIMIC; an ode to the highs and the lows of Ura-hara times, the site is curated for those who continue to ravenously rummage through vintage shops just to find “that” GOODENOUGH flannel or want to talk about every little thing from the era.
As the sabukaru team are shamelessly self-proclaimed Ura-Hara fans, we were thrilled when we got the opportunity to talk to both Noda-san and Tooyama-san. We welcome you to a stripped down, in depth interview in all things Ura-Hara, unbeknownst to the world until now.
-ABOUT MIMIC-
CAN YOU GUYS INTRODUCE YOURSELVES TO THE SABUKARU NETWORK?
TOOYAMA [T]: I’m Tooyama. I run a production company working as an editor and stylist whilst also handling private work planning, editing and producing catalogues and magazines.
NODA [N]: I’m Noda. I run a company called FANATIC. The main business is a service called WazzUp, a tool that allows brands to segment their audience and distribute content to their customers through SNS and another service that allows brands to easily upload videos on their e-commerce websites.
HOW DID YOU GUYS ALL MEET?
N: We all worked for the same magazine called OLLIE; Tooyama was the editor in chief and Seto was my junior. I rented an office but since the magazine didn’t have many staff, we had a lot of open space. That’s why when I heard that Toyama was looking for an office, I offered to share the free space with him.
T: It became like a meeting point for us. I realized that this was an opportunity to create something special, even just as a hobby. That’s when Mimic was born. It’s been two years since we founded the site but initially Mimic wasn’t about profit. We just found ourselves reminiscing about the past and talking about our memories revolving around street culture and fashion so we wanted to do something that encapsulated those moments. Since I had a lot of free time on my hands, I drove around to different recycle shops [second hand stores that carry not just clothes but all sorts of things] in rural areas for fun. There was a thrift shop where I grew up and when I found nostalgic brands there, it sparked something in me. I started going around to recycle shops in different regions trying to find similar brands. I told the guys about it and they all wanted to join in. That’s how it started I guess. We also didn’t care about digging around abroad. We were interested in Japanese Ura-Hara brands.
WHAT MOTIVATES YOU ALL TO CONTINUE?
N: It’s just a ton of fun. But if I were to say one thing, I get a lot of requests from clients to do work for e-commerce websites. Buying online is convenient, hence for me, a bit boring so when Tooyama started sending me photos he took during his thrifting trips, it reminded me of how nice it was to go look and find something unexpected.
T: I knew that we liked the same brands because we were originally together at OLLIE. It’s not worth sharing something if it’s not with someone who gets it. When I sent them the photos, they were just as excited as I was saying, “Can’t believe you found that!” or “You’re finding so much”.
-ABOUT URA HARA-
WHAT IS URA-HARA to you?
N: For me, it was my entire youth. If I were to buy clothes, it was all Ura-Hara and I went to the shops every day.
T: A lot of people have differing opinions about the golden ages of Ura-Hara but it might be easiest to consider BAPE as the starting point and the core of it all. Some people define Ura-hara as the age when BAPE was just BAPE, not a brand worn by celebs but a brand made by the people for the people. On the other hand some might say Ura-hara started when the brand BAPE itself became much larger than the culture of Ura-hara. For Noda, it is the former, before the culture gained popularity and international attention.
N: Personally, from 1993 to 1998 was the most interesting time. Before it became major, the people who truly loved it came together, looking at the articles about street culture on the back of magazines for any information they could find. The age when only the core people were part of the scene, that’s Ura-hara for me.
T: For me, during the first phase I was a freelance writer interviewing the Urahara designers so rather than being at the center of it all, I experienced it through my work. Since I was at an age where I could look at everything going on in the streets from an outsider’s perspective, Ura-Hara wasn’t exactly my time. But the momentum was pretty amazing.
WHAT URA-HARA BRANDS AND SHOPS EXISTED BACK THEN, THE DEEPER AND UNDER THE RADAR NAMES - COULD YOU PLEASE GIVE US A LOOK INTO A FEW INTERESTING NAMES?
T: There was a store and brand called HECTIC, they sold their own original brands such as Regular, PKG and Seesaw. Also there was this shop called FAMOUZ, the main location for a brand with the same name and a store called Tokyo-Do. They sold punk style goods and merchandise. They also sold work by artists from overseas like KOZIK that created band and event silkscreen posters.
The last one we would like to mention is amaze. They sold East Coast skate brand wear such as Zoo York and Half Life, and we think they also sold Supreme back then.
AND WHAT WERE THE STREETWEAR BRANDS THAT WERE IMPORTANT TO YOU ESPECIALLY?
T: KRYPTON, LOWPROFILE and COMPLETE FINESSE.
ARE THERE ANY NAMES, BRANDS, MOVEMENTS FROM BACK THEN THAT YOU FEEL HAVEN’T BEEN COVERED ENOUGH OR DID NOT GET ENOUGH SPOTLIGHT YET? IS THERE ANYONE WE SHOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT AND RESEARCH INTO?
T: Yes, there are brands and projects like Blue, Stash, and Futura’s project Dragon or Stash’s brand SUBWEAR. Also as mentioned earlier, HECTIC is an important name that was one of the firsts to stock RECON. Including, the director YOPPY and AKEEM.
There also was a brand called MOTIVE that was designed by Kohei Makita and sold at One Gram that was also a Supreme distributor, you should look into - and the designer of Made In World and Masterpiece, Chi-cho-san!
Don't forget about the 90’s Ragga style select shop called Outer Limits that was the spot for those who were really in the know.
There was also a time when there were a lot of clubbing clothes type shops in Studio Alta in Shinjuku [from the late 80’s to mid 90’s] And DJ MURO’s shop SAVAGE!
WHAT DO YOU THINK STANDS AT THE CORE OF URA-HARA?
T: That’s a hard one but Hiroshi-san and LAST ORGY I would have to say. LAST ORGY was only a one-page series in a magazine but it showcased what Hiroshi-san and Kan Takagi’s group “TINNIE PUNX” took interest in infused with other random content. People who were looking for this series took in every word, but for others it meant nothing, they didn't care about it at all. It wasn’t even featured on TV.
WERE THERE ANY OTHER MAGAZINES THAT WERE INFLUENTIAL AT THE TIME?
T: Yes, that would be BOON magazine.
N: From sneakers to G-Shock, BOON was an all-round fashion magazine and the impact of it was pretty big.
T: Also the magazine would showcase one-of-a-kind items so I think that it was definitely a front runner when it came to hype products at the time. Starting from vintage, the word ‘rare' also became a keyword in street fashion magazines like this. In the case of vintage, the focus is only on vintage clothing but items that were rare or limited editions would then cause ‘hype’.
URA-HARA WASN’T ONLY ABOUT CLOTHES. THE MUSIC AND CLUB SCENE ALSO HAD A HUGE INFLUENCE RIGHT?
T: That’s right, the youth during 1988 and ’89 who were a part of the first phase of a major club scene were the people of Ura-Hara. The kids of the Ura-Hara scene were the ones running around to different clubs every night. Even if we were broke we found a way to be out and about.
N: Yeah, Hiroshi Fujiwara, NIGO and Jun Takahashi played in the clubs and industry people were hitting up the same places around the early 90s.
WHICH CLUBS DID YOU GO TO?
T: Definitely ‘Milos Garage’ in Shinjuku. There was a recurring event called LONDON NITE that played punk rock and a mix of other genres that were considered underground music at the time. This was the place to be if you were a part of the culture.
N: This was where all the legends met each other. Hiroshi was DJ-ing, NIGO was handling the records, and Jun Takahashi joined in on the action too.
HOW DID YOU FEEL WHEN URA-HARA SUDDENLY ATTRACTED ATTENTION FROM OVERSEAS?
N: When BAPE opened a store in New York, hip-hop artists started to wear it and the people modelling for BAPE clearly changed, I realised how big Ura-Hara had become. BAPE was also the reason why artists from overseas started to take interest in Japan. I think hip hop artists like Pharrell saw the colourful camouflage and thought it was pretty sick. Ironically, Ura-hara was dying in Japan when it became big abroad.
T: Yeah, BAPE was the one who brought Ura-Hara overseas. But after all, when it becomes a boom, the culture itself comes to an end. That’s just how it is. Many brands also went out of business because they couldn’t keep up with the times or they made poor managerial decisions so it was a matter of time when the Ura-hara culture would die out.
HOW DO YOU THINK URA-HARA HAS INFLUENCED CURRENT CULTURE?
N: Since it happened more than 30 years ago I think most people are no longer consciously influenced by Ura-Hara culture and rather unconsciously incorporating it in their style. Wearing baggy T-shirts and denim jeans below the waist, became popular in Japan because of Ura-hara, but not many people know that. I think these days people like products because they just find it cool regardless of its origins but when they actually know the roots and the background story of that byproduct, that’s when you know that that person’s a bit different and special.
WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE MAIN THING RIGHT NOW?
T: Now, I think that Kim Jones and the late Virgil Abloh, who were influenced by Ura-Hara culture, are making it a thing in the street luxury scene. Those people who were inspired by Ura-Hara are the driving force behind the culture to this day and people that we didn’t hear about for 5-10 years like KAWS is coming back in style. But I think this second phase is coming to an end too. From Supreme, sneakers, and resale culture, it seems like it's all calming down and I think street style will take a break for a while. I think the heat will go towards a different scene like luxury. At one point, when Ura-Hara calmed down in the past, the trend shifted to ‘Gal-O’ man [a term given to men in the 90s channelling similar attitudes with the men of glam rock but defined by skinny jeans, tanned bodies, bright colors, and an almost Yu-Gi-Oh like haircut]. Given that, I feel like it’s going in a completely different direction again.
CAN YOU TELL US WHAT KIND OF FASHION TRIBES THERE WERE AT THE TIME AND WHAT WERE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THEM ?
N: Ura-Hara and Ebisu were the biggest players at that time. Ebisu isn’t talked about much, so I think this is a good opportunity for them to get exposure from overseas. At one point, there was a time when Ebisu's momentum surpassed Ura-Hara’s.
In terms of differences, if Ura-Hara was a club, Ebisu was the live house. The fashion wasn’t so different but which tribe you belonged to was decided by the location of the shops you went to, which clubs you went to, and the people you were around.
T: As it was Ura-Hara before Ebisu, it did feel like something different emerged into the scene, partly because they were a younger crowd. I feel like Ebisu style was formed by the people who went to Milos Garage as fans instead of DJs. That's why Milos Garage is still at the core. Also, the people wearing Ebisu style often formed brands that were influenced by bands with a crossover sound of hardcore rock and hiphop like the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Raging Against the Machine, as well as the genre ‘mixture rock’ so music preference was definitely an underlying factor in the tribe's foundings as well.
CAN YOU PLEASE TELL US MORE ABOUT THE EBISU SCENE AND WHAT IT WAS LIKE? WHAT WERE THE MOST IMPORTANT NAMES, AND WHAT WERE THE BRANDS THAT STARTED THROUGH THIS? IT FEELS LIKE THE EBISU NAME HAS BEEN MENTIONED IN CONVERSATIONS OVERSEAS YET, AND WE WOULD LOVE TO GO DEEPER.
N: The main Ebisu-kei brands were these four, the key characteristic for each of them and what made them so special iis that they were run or founded by band members or musicians:
DEVILOCK - by Noriaki Endo / Band member of GMF
MACKDADDY - by Tsukasa Kusakabe / Band member of Bull the Buffalos
Empire - by Takayoshi Shirakawa / Band member of BACK DROP BOMB
Swagger - by Hidehiro Iguchi / Band member of SHAKKAZOMBIE
-ABOUT VINTAGE CLOTHING-
T: Japan has long held a fascination towards American culture, maybe one of the reasons as to why imported vintage clothing has always been cherished. After the country finally decided to open up its borders during the postwar period and American culture started to seep into the country, the Japanese couldn’t help but look at the casual and effortless style of the everyday American with admiration. This admiration would carry on and spark a cultural movement called Ame-kaji short for American casual [inititally called Shibu-kaji due to it’s culture being rooted within the Shibuya area], a fashion boom during the 80s and 90s, inspired by a biker gang called the ‘teamers’ who hung around Shibuya, dressed in roughed up American casualwear. Now that the West is taking inspiration from Japan, I guess we can say it really is a never ending loop when it comes to fashion trends and reimportation is at its finest today.
WHY WAS VINTAGE CLOTHING SO VALUED IN JAPAN?
T: I think Japanese people were the first to add value to so-called second-hand clothing. In the mid-1980s, just before Ura-Harajuku, there was a period when a lot of vintage shops started to open and sell Levi's Big E and vintage denim at a high price. Hence, the word vintage became commonplace during this time too. There are many Japanese people who’ve always taken interest in America from the beginning but after Japan lost the war and American culture infiltrated the country, people started to think American culture was cool. From this period onwards, people who worshipped Levi’s started to grow. That’s why ‘American casual’ style is a form close to the origins of street fashion.
CAN YOU TELL US ABOUT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SHIBU-KAJI [Shibuya Casual], AME-KAJI [American Casual] AND URA-HARA?
N: I think that inspired Ura-Hara, but vintage at the time usually meant selling items imported from the United States as they were. The Ura-Hara people were buying vintage too but I think they were the first to start making the products really their own.
T: Ura-Hara was the first generation of people to actually launch their own clothing brands, differentiating them from the vintage generation that just sold products imported from the West, untouched.
N: Of course everyone liked vintage at that time, even NIGO is very familiar with it. But in the end, they started making their own clothes because they found out that the imported vintage items weren't the right size or were in poor condition. NIGO said in a past interview that when he found it difficult to buy clothing off of racks from shops, Jun [Takahashi] suggested it would be better to just make it himself. That’s how he started BAPE.
T: The early BAPE was made originally from the philosophy of ‘tweaking’ imported originals to suit their likes and needs. Because he really liked vintage, he made some improvements in the places where he wanted to do something about and put it out as his original.
N: There are so many influences that went into the creation of BAPE. Whether that was Shibu-Kaji, Ame-Kaji or Vanson, when something becomes a hype, everyone in the streets, especially the youth, wear the same thing. So when something was hyped up to that extent, there was no doubt that some people were going to reject it. Those same people are the ones who would then go on to create an absolutely new culture. You can say that’s what happened for Ame-Kaji and Shibu-Kaji. At that time, young people began to wear Ame-Kaji and Shibu-Kaji as a counteract against the luxury scene called the DC culture [short for designer’s and characters].
T: But when vintage became the main thing, the people who rejected this culture started ‘Ura-Hara’ and the end of Ura-Hara was I believe BAPE.
N: At that time, the sources of information were limited, so if something that was easily accessible for everyone got featured on TV or magazines, everyone would wear it immediately. Whereas today, information is thrown at you from various channels and everyone is looking at different sources for inspiration so I think it is less likely that a super hype like before will occur.
USED CLOTHING IS BACK IN STYLE. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE CURRENT PHASE AND THE FIRST PHASE?
T: The second-hand clothes that are booming now are the ones that we sold in real time, so it’s weird to see that it’s already perceived as ‘vintage’. The first vintage phase consisted of clothes worn as ‘casual wear’ not ‘street fashion’ because at the time it was new to wear work clothes, thick block tech shirts and wool shirts not just for work but for fashion. However, what is now said to be used clothing is made to be worn as ‘street style’ so I think the intentions behind how the clothes are meant to be worn differ according to which phase we are talking about.
N: Young people now can buy at a reasonable price and experience the fun of going to the store to find something rare and one of a kind. With online shopping and fast fashion brands like UNIQLO, the lineup is already given to you at hand so I think that the youth who have grown up with everyone wearing the same thing and going to the same shops are now discovering the joy that comes from the thrifting experience.
-LAST WORDS-
LOOKING BACK, COULD YOU TELL US SOME DANGEROUS OR MEMORABLE HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SCENE?
T: I have tons [laughs].
N: But that’s street culture, isn’t it? If you don't know the rules of the streets, then you were obviously going to get some kind of punishment.
T: When I was a high school student, Shibu-Kaji was at its all time high but people from this culture as well as punks, a lot of hooligans from the countryside and some color gangs [a name given to a Japanese group imitating the crips and the bloods gangs in the USA] would all get judged by their appearances from people who weren’t so fond of the them. During this time most of the girls started to dress pretty provocatively and the places where we all got together was the club so I can understand why people felt the need to judge. But people from differenet cultures would often come together which was super nice. It was also a time when rules were less strict, even high schoolers in their uniforms were allowed in the clubs and nobody cared about the drinking age so there was more room to experiment.
ANY COMMENTS ABOUT CURRENT FASHION?
N: I don't like resale as a standard. I’ve also noticed that people who haven't actually lived through many fashion trends sure have a lot to say about it on social media platforms. In our time, you knew when a person really liked a certain culture and you couldn’t really talk in depth about something without experiencing it yourself. Now, it’s become easier to access information about literally everything through SNS, so even people who have not experienced the culture in real life think they have the right to have a solid opinion about it.
It is really important to look for those hidden gems, ‘the real deal’ that’s often lost within all this fake news and unnecessary noise and build a style for yourself instead of just trusting everything. In terms of what I like, I personally think it's amazing when young people are interested in our generation. I think that anyone can obtain information from various sources but doing something about it and really taking action is what counts. I do think in that sense, it's really nice to be in an era where it's much easier to buy, get in touch and meet instantaneously.
T: Also for me, street fashion is for boys in their teens and 20s. Those kids are the ones who look the best in it, and since young people now may be making their own thing that looks best for them, I think it's better for me to stay out of the picture. When a senior figure forces themselves into the conversation saying “Do this, do that” that isn’t cool. So I won't say anything in particular to change what they are doing but if someone came up to us saying they wanted to see the magazines that we have in our office for inspiration, we will of course invite you in with open arms.
HOW DO YOU WANT FASHION AND CULTURE TO CHANGE IN THE FUTURE?
T: Something online can never do justice to the real thing so that’s why I want people to start realizing this and start experiencing things for themselves rather than just doing a bunch of research in front of a computer screen. Like going directly to a shop and looking at the clothes in person is way better than experiencing it through a screen and that goes for anything whether that be clubbing, music or shopping.
N: It really is. After all, online shopping and zoom calls are all super convenient, but the amount of emotional stimulation that you get from it is generally low. The more inefficient something is, the more satisfied I am afterwards because of the extra effort that goes into experiencing it. Products I finally found after going around shops ten times. Especially when I am happy with the purchased product, that feeling of satisfaction afterwards is overwhelming. That’s why in my eyes, ‘inconvenience’ is bound to become a keyword from now on but I think the opposite will occur and life will become even more convenient because most companies just don’t get it. I want them to realise that inconvenience can actually provide customers with a more authentic and enjoyable experience.
T: Yeah they should really realize that your emotional response towards something is what drives you as a consumer to purchase so if emotions run low, the desire to buy something will naturally decline, hence products will be less likely to sell.
ANY LAST WORDS TO OUR YOUNG READERS ?
N: Because it is so easy to get information, I think there are a lot of people who will become satisfied with just the act of obtaining this knowledge when in reality, what you do afterwards with it is what counts. Maybe some will argue that they don’t have enough time or money on their hands to actually go out and do something with it but in our age, the only way to gain that knowledge was to go out and experience it ourselves no matter the cost and how much time it took up. That’s why I think by taking action, people will be able to gain a new perspective and experience a different amount of worth towards something.
T: Whether it's Instagram or YouTube, everything is too fast paced these days. But within all of the information that is thrown at you in a short amount of time, there is sure to be some things that leave an impression; don’t leave those things alone. If something sticks, study it from back to front with curiosity. Have a picture of a person who you think is cool but you can’t see a part of the photo? Don’t settle, do some research. Don’t just leave it to instinct when it comes to things that you find interesting or cool. Really dig deep to understand why you have that emotional response towards something. I think that instinct is something that you can rely on after you have studied your thought process for maybe 30 years. For now, do your research to unravel why you feel the way you feel.
N: Yeah, a certain amount of groundwork is absolutely necessary for instinct to kick in. After gaining some knowledge and experience, you can finally make good quick decisions by trusting your instinct because that feeling is nurtured.
Thank you very much for your time !
INTERVIEW & TEXT BY:
Casey Takumi Omori
Ami Takagi
Natsuki Ludwig
Ayana Waki
INTERVIEW IMAGES BY:
Natsuki Ludwig
Magazine Scans from Sabukaru Archive.
