Julius I
t was cold and grey with a light drizzle on the morning of the Julius runway show. The weather was mirrored by many in the crowd, who were draped in blacks and faded greys, waiting with feigned boredom to witness Tatsuro Horikawa’s latest collection. Though the showgoers acted jaded, the atmosphere buzzed with the excitement that the new collection could bring. Horikawa began his career as an artist, venturing into clothing in 1996 with his label NUKE, which he considers to have been the start and root of Julius. “People tend to think that Julius suddenly arrived in the last few years and compare us to some of the newer Western brands, without knowing just how deep our roots go. I think this is a cause for a lot of confusion when people talk about who did what first, particularly regarding underground culture and the use of industrial motifs, but this was what NUKE was all about.” Since the early days of NUKE Horikawa’s powers of design have grown. He has drawn inspiration from movies like Akira, which depicts a post-apocalyptic Neo Tokyo, and other dark anime in Japan’s diverse underground cultures. His past collections have also focused on his darker interests in fetishism, cyberpunk, and industrial cultures in a dualist balance with his spiritual side rooted in traditional Japanese Zen Buddhism. His pallette is monochrome: blacks, whites and greys predominate in his collections. Rarely does one get any color from Horikawa. Perhaps this is because of the heavy influence of the bleak view of Japan’s postpunk industrial underground. At times, Horikawa’s future reality seems bleak, void of light or hope. But then he surprises, again and again, with a gesture of subtlety that suggests humanism and hope. Diverging from prior collections, this year Horikawa presented looks that were distinctly wearable. Though the designer pleased his devoted with in his asymmetrical draped t-shirts, many of the pieces from this collection focused on utility with flair instead of the stark purity of the aesthetic designs that Julius fans may be used to. Some favorites from the presentation included camouflaged harem skinny trousers, reminiscent of the military trend often seen this season. Horikawa’s technical ability shined with a thick knit sweater with the neck hovering between collar and scarf. Horikawa’s theme for this season, “resonance,” permeated the collection. Though Julius went in a lighter direction this season, the monotonous ping of the soundtrack and the foggy room established the continuity with early works. The models, frail but relentless in their march, always blankly expressionless, gave a gothic feel to the event, staying true to the brand’s history. It’s easy to see why Julius has been such a success. In a men’s week filled with the prim and proper, Horikawa and his team are one of the few houses that maintains a consistent counter-trend. This collection spoke of a “metropolitan trilogy” of fortitude, faith, and resonance, which is surely a good message for our current reality. If he continues creating in his own direction, his work will have a presence long after the seasons.
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