Style Resume. Shimazu Yoshiyuki #5

2025.8.11

Text： Kenichi Aono

Edit： Suzuki Yusuke

Whether it's fashion, music, or sports, there is a style that only each person can express in any genre. "Style is Everything." That's right, someone once said that style is everything. "Style Resume" is a series of interviews with adults who, as the name suggests, have style. Updated every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, the 12th installment traces the life of Shimazu Yoshiyuki, who works as a stylist and creative director.

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05. I decided to go to the US for the first time, thinking, "I won't know until I go."

I first went to the US in 1974, my first year of high school. Going back a little, I started reading magazines like Men's Club in junior high school and was what you'd call an Ivy League kid. It was around the end of the VAN heyday. However, I had seen the Beatles and other film concerts, and I'd seen Kazuhiko Kato (deceased), of the Folk Crusaders, wearing Union Jack jackets and chalk-striped suits in magazines, and I had a longing for London-inspired clothing. My older brother was in a band, so he dressed in European style at the time, and I used to borrow his clothes when I performed with my own band. So I was interested in both America, where you see real everyday clothes, and Britain, where you see extraordinary clothing that reflects the music. The only thing I didn't like was London boots (laughs).

A characteristic of Kumamoto people is that they have the attitude, "You won't know until you go, so let's go." My interest in America wasn't just in clothes, but also in movies and cultures such as Woodstock and San Francisco, so I wanted to go and see them for myself. So, using the money I earned from a part-time job, I made my first trip to the US, and Arita Masahiro was a great help in making this happen. At the time, Arita was working at a store called Our House, which stocked vintage clothing and new West Coast-style clothes, and I was obsessed with it. So when Arita told me he was going to America, I volunteered to take him with me.

Shimazu is the second from the left in front of UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). He is wearing a chambray shirt, Seafarla pants (purchased at Hollywood Ranch Market in Sendagaya), and sneakers that are probably Converse.
I first visited the US (San Francisco) with Arita in 1975. We were in front of the Roots shop, famous for its Earth Shoes, on Polk Street, which I learned about from Tarumi (Gen) of Hollywood Ranch Market.

Profile

Yoshiyuki Shimazu (stylist and creative director)

Born in Kumamoto Prefecture in 1959, he is a Kyushu man. He moved to Paris in 1981 and began working as a stylist. He has moved freely between various fields, including magazines, advertising, musicians, and shows, and is currently the creative director of F is For Fender, an apparel brand by guitar manufacturer Fender.

Instagram @shimazuyoshiyuki