ALL STAR LGCY VELVET HI
¥15,400
The "ALL STAR" was introduced in 1917 as a representative icon of Converse. Even today, when the scene has expanded from basketball to fashion, its universal style continues to be loved by many people around the world. The "ALL STAR LGCY VELVET HI" is a flagship model that revives the legacy of the brand from the archives to the present day, and is a special order model from Billy's that is clothed in the color of velvet.
PROFILE
Born in Oita Prefecture in 1989, the frontman of go!go!vanillas is a four-piece band that has been updating its sound since its debut in 2013, voraciously incorporating various genres from garage, funk, R&B, to country. The band's live performances are also a real treat, with the four members' different personalities clashing to create a strong groove.
The current state of fashion, arrived at by honestly confronting what is cool.
- What was your first influence on the fashion scene?
The first thing I admired was the UK garage rock revival scene of the 2000s. A British band called The Libertines came out, and the styling of frontmen Pete Doherty and Carl Baller was really cool. The silhouettes were tight, with single riders or suits and hats.
- How old is that?
I think it was around my sophomore year of high school. I didn't have a lot of money at the time, so I would go to thrift stores and find something that looked like it and wear it. It wasn't popular around me at all.
- You were a precocious high school student.
Since my hometown was Oita, there was quite a difference between what was popular around me and what was going on around me. From that time on, I was playing in a cover band, copying Arctic Monkeys or something, but it didn't seem to stick with me at all. Even so, I was attracted to British culture anyway, and I thought that the unique mode style of that era was cool, not only in music but also in movies and fashion as well.
- That is where the roots are for you, isn't it? Today's styling is also reminiscent of the 2000s, but the fashions of that time are still cool even today.
Cool things will always remain, and if you look at classic rock culture in order, from Elvis in the 50s to the Beatles, the times are turning. I think that mixing what people in the past have done with your own individuality is what is cool in this day and age, and I always want to keep that sense.
- How do you think your own style has changed, starting with the UK rock scene in the 2000s?
Like music, I have a sense of having taken in various things out of curiosity. I learned about Daft Punk from a band like Justice, which expressed itself as dance rock by incorporating elements of electronic music such as techno and house in a catchy way, as well as orthodox rock and roll, and then I found Phoenix, who also came from France. New encounters in music and fashion spread like a string of beads.
- Do you feel like you respond flexibly to the music you hear at the time or the mood of the time?
When I first came to Tokyo, I used to wear tight denim that made me sweat even in the summer and wear leather shoes with scuffed feet, but I think I gradually began to choose what fit me best. I have many friends around me who work in fashion, and I think I started to wear cool brands when I saw them. I am increasingly choosing what to wear from within a culture that is rooted in me.
- How do you enjoy fashion these days, Maki-san?
As I get older, I'm cutting back more and more. I used to like to wear band T-shirts with big graphics of my favorite band's jacket or tour, but now I think it's just right that it's too snatched and you can't even see the band logo well.
- What do you value in your everyday shopping?
The deciding factor is whether the silhouette matches me when I try it on. If I try on a variety of clothes and feel that the designer's vision matches mine, I fall in love with it all at once. In music and fashion, if I am interested in something, I just dig it up and enjoy getting to know the backbone and thought behind it. Ever since I was a child, I have always wanted to love music and brands that I have researched myself, not the same as others, and that feeling may never change.
