Although Japan Fashion Week ended yesterday, it seems like one of the country’s gorgeous exports is just getting started. Japan’s own hauntingly beautiful model, Tao Okamoto, is the current cover girl for the November 2009 issue of Vogue Nippon, as well as the new face of Uniqlo. Tao has already been in campaigns for fashion heavyweights like Marc Jacobs, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren, and H&M. Keep reading to get familiar with some photos from throughout her career…
DJ Muro is a walking hip-hop renaissance man. Among crate diggers and sample DJs, Muro is internationally known for his soul- and funk-inspired mixtapes, which have earned him the title “King of Diggin’.” To Japanese hip-hop fans, he’s forever known as the godfather of Tokyo’s hip-hop scene. And to streetwear enthusiasts, Muro is renowned as a tastemaker who has worked with Stüssy, UNDFTD, and Staple. He has produced chart-topping hits in Japan, but still receives pounds of respect from the purists. Overall, he’s more than just your average DJ.
Despite the cultural impact he wields in Japan, DJ Muro is still relatively unknown Stateside. Well, time to get familiar! If you’re in NYC, you can check out the legend on the one’s and two’s tonight with DJ Neil Armstrong. If that’s too last-minute, you can also check him out tomorrow night with Q-Tip at Santo’s Party House, or Saturday night with DJ Chairman Mao at APT. In the meanwhile, read our Complex 7 with the Japanese honcho, and check out some of his best productions…
It’s hard to say which we’re looking forward to more: Iron Man 2, which hits theaters in May 2010, or this new Iron Man TV show that hits Japan’s Animax channel in 2010 (and presumably the internet, with subtitles, soon thereafter). It’s the first in a four series collaboration between Marvel and Japanese animation studio Madhouse, the iconic company behind a long string of critical and commercial anime smashes, including Ninja Scroll, Perfect Blue, Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust, Metropolis, Paprika, Millennium Actress, and Tokyo Godfathers (to name a few). They’ve also released the trailer for the new Wolverine series, which looks pretty cornball compared to the badass Tony Stark teaser, but we’ve posted it below for you to check out anyway…
Tune in to Complex.com every morning at 8 AM for your daily “Wake N’ Watch” video.
To a certain demographic—Japan-lovers, video game otakus and general Asia-philes—the singer Hikaru Utada is a goddess of cool. In fact, Utada is the only woman to be name-dropped in two separate issues of Complex as a reader’s “dream date” on our Street Detail page. With her ever-changing style, sexy bilingualism and Tetris fetish, Utada is clearly our type of gal.
In 2004, after years of doing Beyoncé numbers in Japan, Utada released her first U.S. album, Exodus on Def Jam. Though it had some good songs, it ultimately failed to make her an American star. Five years later, Utada is back with the follow-up This is the One, out now on iTunes and dropping officially on May 12. Whereas Exodus was what Utada now calls an “uncomfortable, bold and experimental” project, This is the One is more of a focused, concerted effort at breaking the U.S. charts with production from Stargate (”So Sick,” Ne-Yo; “Irreplaceable,” Beyoncé) and Tricky Stewart (”Rockin’ That Shit,” The-Dream, “Umbrella,” Rihanna). It seems to be working: The new LP debuted at #2 on the iTunes Pop Album chart. In anticipation of its official release, we sat with Utada and got her commentary on 7 YouTube clips related to her career…
Japan’s triumph in the World Baseball Classic was mostly ignored (not us!), but there is one way it’s paying dividends for you readers. We finally have a rock-solid (ayo!) reason to do a countdown of the baddest Japanese women in the world.
You Japan-o-philes already know, but the country is sick with the chick game—its booming gravure/A.V./bikini-idol industry churns out big-breasted, sweet-faced girls like the U.S. does delusional rappers. To keep it fair, we only selected a few of these models, ’cause otherwise we’d have to go 900-click-throughs on you. Without further ado, we present the 9 hottest women of Japan…
Our hopes have been answered: The U.S. is out of the World Baseball Classic, leaving us with tonight’s all-East-Asia final pitting Korea and Japan. That may not sound exciting, until you appreciate the shared history of the neighboring rivals. Think of Korea vs. Japan as sort of like the Red Sox vs. the Yankees, if New York brutally raped and pillaged Boston over a hundred times throughout history, terrorized generations of Bostonians over multiple decades and forced them to change their names, lose their cultural identity and speak only with a New York accent. Yeah, something like that.
To paraphrase J.M. Coetzee paraphrasing Rene Girard: The fewer the differences between two parties, the more bitter their mutual hatred. Korea and Japan are right next to each other and share similar bloodlines, cultures and economies, yet an extremely bitter tension still exists between the two countries. Why? Check out our breakdown of the Korea-Japan beef through history below…
On general principle, we tend to avoid company web sites that automatically play music. This is 2009, thuns! Save the tunes for MySpace. But we’ll make an exception for Twelve Bar, for a few reasons: 1) The London-Tokyo-NYC-L.A. brand draws its name from and is directly inspired by music; 2) its online store is one of the better ones we’ve seen from a clothing brand; 3) the line has evolved from hip-hop-themed T-shirts into a full, fresh, diverse collection; and 4) the music ain’t all that bad, neither.
Today’s Buy It Now is the Japanese Selvedge Herringbone from Twelve Bar, a great denim shirt that’s a can’t-miss for spring. For detail pics and Buy It Now info, see below…
Did you wake up this morning thinking: Damn, I really need a pink hoodie? You did, didn’t you? Well, you are in luck, my friend(s). Because today we’ve got the awesomest pink hoodie you’ve ever seen. Seriously, though, this pink hoodie will add a nice little color accent to an outfit, as long as the rest of your gear is in dark colors, or'preferably'all-black. Going pastel-on-pastel is not the move.
The Hellweek Hoody is made by WTaps, the highly-sought-after Japanese brand created by streetwear O.G. Tetsu “Tet” Nishiyama. The brand is renowned for its military-inspired clothes and fresh collabos (Timberland, Vans, et. al.). This hoodie has an inner thermal lining (step up your photo game, Union!) so it’s a good piece to transition into spring. For detail pics and Buy It Now info, see below…
(Left) Two-Tone Hooded Raglan Jacket; (Right) Asymmetric Zip Hooded Jacket
If you’re snowed in on the East Coast today, you should have ample time for some serious online shopping. Really, what else are you gonna do? Watch The Bold and the Beautiful? Go sledding? Shovel your sidewalk? C’mon, spend some money, friends. It’ll make you feel better.
We suggest looking into one of these fresh Japanese outerwear pieces from trusted Asian streetwear site YesStyle.com. The Two-Tone Hooded Raglan Jacket is a 100% nylon windbreaker that’s kind of like a Windrunner with some added intricate detailing (those crafty Japanese!). For more conservative types, the Asymmetric Zip Hooded Jacket is a nylon/cotton blend in a classic anorak style; blue and yellow is a can’t miss for spring. For detail pics, additional colorways and Buy It Now info, see below…
If we told you ten years ago that hip-hop kids would be rocking skinny jeans and toting manbags, you’d probably say: “Yeah, right…and I’m sure rappers will be singing emo electro-pop, too. FOH!” Uh, yeah. Things done changed. But it’s like they say: Trends come and go, but true style is forever. Which is why we love Head Porter, the collabo brand of Tokyo-based bag experts Yoshida & Co. and streetwear guru Hiroshi Fujiwara. These guys were producing high-quality, stylish bags back when you thought wearing a non-Jansport backpack was a style risk.
Today’s Buy It Now is the popular Boston duffel from Head Porter’s Dot Black Beauty series'the perfect carryall to stash in the overhead for your next weekend getaway. You can try to find it at Head Porter’s Soho NYC store, but for a closer look at the bag and Buy It Now info, see below…
Did you wake up this morning thinking: Damn, I really need a pink hoodie? You did, didn’t you? Well, you are in luck, my friend(s). Because today we’ve got the awesomest pink hoodie you’ve ever seen. Seriously, though, this pink hoodie will add a nice little color accent to an outfit, as long as the rest of your gear is in dark colors, or'preferably'all-black. Going pastel-on-pastel is not the move. 
