Some interesting news to come out Japan relating to the phenomenal band X Japan, well specifically the public figure and drummer of the group Yoshiki.
When you think X Japan you hear the breathtaking music, or think of what a concert of theirs in the world renowned Tokyo Dome must have been like. We can bet one of thing you wouldn't have thought of would be Yoshiki teaming up with goth rock icon Marilyn Manson for the "Asia Girls Explosion" fashion event to launch his new clothing line. Well that's exactly what he did this past weekend in Tokyo!
Yoshiki, the dummer of X Japan, used the event showcasing many fashion designs from all over the world to officially launch his own clothing line named "Yoshikimono" at the Yoyogi National Stadium. The name of this clothing line being one that pays tribute to his parents who ran a Kimono shop when he was growing up. Yoshiki being quoted as saying "It is a tradition in Japan that the eldest male takes on the family business, but I rebelled and got into rock'nroll. With the Yoshikimono line, I feel I'm keeping my parents' dream alive."
The concept of "Asia Girls Explosion" was "an East-meets-West/fashion-meets-music event". When formulating the event, Yoshiki wanted to enlist the services of someone who could add to the event and rocker Marilyn Manson the man he wanted. Yoshiki explained "When we came up with the concept for [Asia Girls Explosion], the first person I thought of was Marilyn Manson. He is the fashion icon in rock'n'roll, and I'm very excited he agreed to be part of the show."
The press release for this news noted that "Manson and other international celebrities that included Shenae Grimes, Jessica Stroup and AnnaLynne McCord from the TV series "90210," presented trendy but wearable collections from a variety of high-end, international designers that combined Japanese street fashion with progressive Western design, and a healthy dose of rock'n'roll style."
Pictured Right: Marilyn Manson on the catwalk.
Pictured Left: An example of "Yoshikimono" being displayed at the event.
Perhaps a coincidence but on March 15th in the USA, X Japan will be unveiling the first single from their forthcoming album that is the first album of theirs to be released in the USA, known as "Jade". The album is due out later this year and will likely coincide with their US tour that begins in late September.
In my eyes, it's quite clever for Yoshiki to have integrated two very diverse forms of popular culture in the US, Marilyn Manson and the '90210' TV show, into an event like this. With the fashion world being one that travels far and wide, people all over will now have been exposed to the participants and other projects they are involved with, X Japan and the new clothing line on a world wide scale. This will not doubt add to any interest surrounding X Japan when the new material debuts on March 15th!
Speaking of the new material, once the full track of "Jade" has surfaced, we'll be sure to give you our first impressions of it. Hugo in particular being a very big fan of X Japan, is excited to hear how the band have developed and how them now targeting to make it big in the US will affect or alter their music! A teaser of the clip of the single "Jade" can be heard at the bands official website by clicking
here.
Watch this space in the coming weeks for more X Japan news!
[Source: "Asia Girls Explosion" Press Release]
Be sure to listen to our latest podcast to hear our spoiler free review on this work by Makoto Shinkai.
