Lad Musician – 2010-11 A/W Collection

In what seemed like a sequel to its death metal-inspired 09AW show, Black Painting, Lad Musician’s latest collection, designed by Yuichi Kuroda, was a gothic horror romp taking in vampires, ghouls and ghosts.

The collection for 10AW, titled “The Un-Dead”, included everything Lad Musician is famous for – a skinny-boy silhouette, super-sharp tailoring and lots and lots of black. However Kuroda did intersperse the gothic monochrome with the odd splash of color in items such as salmon pink jackets and other pieces in hues of brown and beige. However, the mismatched color palette had the effect of making the collection look a little unbalanced. The staging itself, however, was scarily theatrical and the smoke filled runway, eerie soundscape, ghostly styling with blood tears and lipstick was perfect for the collection theme.

The pieces in black and blood-red, however, which included blousons, elongated sweaters, undertaker coats and some superbly crafted capes managed to save the day. The show, which closed the AW10 menswear season in Tokyo, was everything we have come to expect from Kuroda but at the same time was perhaps a sign that Lad Musician hasn’t really progressed much in terms of aesthetic and approach since being established in 1995.

The brand, which recently opened a store in Shinjuku and a flagship in Nagoya designed by acclaimed Japanese architects General Design, has a loyal following with Tokyo boys with a penchant for an emaciated glam rock ‘n’ roll star aesthetic. The designer knows his customers well and previous collections have names such as Cocksucker Blues (name of a 70s Rolling Stones documentary) and All Songs Digitally Remastered.

Lad Musician, in addition to its numerous Japanese stores and stockists can be found in Opening Ceremony in LA and NYC and menswear emporium Tangs in Singapore.

Lad Musician 2010-11 Autumn/Winter – “The Un-Dead”

External Link: Lad Musician Official Website

Article text by Paul McInnes and all photos by Will Robb.

About the author:
Paul McInnes is a fashion and arts journalist based in Tokyo. He is the fashion editor (menswear) and contributing arts editor of The Japan Times. He is also the Tokyo editor of Sportswear International and contributes to publications such as High Fashion, Dazed Digital, JC Report and Japanese Streets. He has also been interviewed for TV including NHK’s Tokyo Fashion Express and lifestyle magazines such as Metropolis and Kaleidoscope magazine.

About the photographer:
As long as he is behind his camera Will is a happy man. He has photographed everything from the slums of Bangkok to the catwalks of Tokyo. He is a contract photographer for Lonely Planet, his images and photo essays have appeared in Time Out, The Japan Times, Sportswear International and a variety of other newspapers, magazines and guidebooks around the world and his photo essays from Iraq for The Griffith Review even earned him a mention in the Australian book review of the year in 2006. In addition to his media related work, Will also shoots events, portraits, weddings and the occasional CD cover. Whatever he’s working on, he always writes about his jobs and how he goes about them at Will Robb Photography.