Kamiya’s show took place under the rumbling train tracks of Akihabara, the Tokyo otaku district known for its abundance of electronics and anime merch stores.
It was a funny choice for Koji Kamiya, who is the polar opposite of a computer geek. The young designer’s aesthetic swings less nerd and more rebellious teenage dirtbag, with a Tokyo twist. At first glance you might think you’ve seen those burnout flannel shirts, distressed Cobain sweaters, stained hoodies, and baggy jeans before, but Kamiya subtly brings his own fresh flavor of grunge to the table with experimental textiles and design quirks.
Wire was added to jorts to create wavy hems, while oversized blazers were emblazoned with swallowtail butterflies on the back that were inspired by Kamiya’s ‘kamon,’ or family crest, so that they looked like updates of sukajan (the silk souvenir jackets popular with American GIs after WWII). Bombers were printed with the shadows of studded leather bikers trompe l’oeil-style, while hoodies and jeans were pre-faded or gradient-dyed so that they looked as though they’d been run over and kicked around on the side of the road. Bad boy swagger, bottled.
Kamiya called the collection “Mannish Boy” in reference to the 1955 tune by the American blues singer Muddy Waters, and he intended it as a kind of modern manifesto of how to be a man. The secret to that seemed to be about having fun—and showing off. For the finale, a gigantic truck covered in a rainbow of flashing lights (a Japanese phenomenon known as dekotora, or “decoration truck”) drove to the head of the runway to serve as the backdrop. After the show, throngs of well-dressed fans crowded the truck to pose for pictures. Kamiya grinned from the sidelines. “That’s fashion right there,” he said.