Japan is like my neverneverland – with every trip I take there, I fall more in love with the country. I feel like Japan’s punks are my kindred spirits; even though we don’t share the same language, we do share the same passion. The impact that Discharge, Amebix and Crass had on Japanese punk is huge! This fact is very evident when you travel to certain neighborhoods and see large numbers of crusty punks on the streets. Another interesting thing about a certain generation of punks is that many of them also have close ties to fashion and the design world. To me, it seems like they said to themselves, let’s figure out how we can make our passion become the way we make our living. The Japanese leather company BLACKMEANS has done it better that almost anyone. Their leather products are way more than just clothes, they are works of art. I know some people reading this might say that they are sellouts for taking the crusty aesthetic and turning into high fashion. But I know why they charge so much – it’s because what they do is very time-consuming and created to the highest quality. Check out this cool video about BLACKMEANS below, plus peep some of our favorite jackets by them…Personally, these dudes inspire me, because they are living their dream on a daily basis, and what could be better than that?
Blackmeans, a Fashionable Selby Film from the selby on Vimeo.
LN-CC FILM: Blackmeans from LN-CC on Vimeo.
