STARGLOW look.1

STARGLOW is a boy group born from “THE LAST PIECE,” the audition project in which BMSG trainees, under the direction of SKY-HI, compete for their debut. The group consists of five distinctive members—RUI, TAIKI, KANON, GOICHI, and ADAM—each blessed with exceptional vocal and dance talent. Together with ONITSUKA TIGER’s latest DENIVITA series, we take a closer look at the true personalities of these rising stars, a new generation of talent enjoying immense popularity.

The moment they slipped into look.1, each member described it as “fresh” and “a new sensation.” During the shoot, they carried a cool presence in front of the camera, while also showing an unmistakable excitement at seeing themselves updated into a new version of who they are.

RUI　The brown-based color palette gives off a warm, autumn-like vibe, which is really nice. The styling made my whole silhouette look great from head to toe, and on top of that, it felt really comfortable to wear—I loved it!

TAIKI　The eyewear in the first look felt new and striking to me. It’s the kind of item that changes your whole vibe depending on whether you’re wearing it or not, and I thought it worked really well as an accent with the BOMBER JACKET and SHORTS.

GOICHI　For me, the pink DENIM JACKET felt new. I personally thought it was a pretty bold styling choice, but in reality it suited me better than I had imagined, and it helped me discover a new side of myself.

ADAM　The clothes I usually wear are simple designs based around black, and the silhouette is often cropped tops with oversized pants. This time, though, it was the opposite of my usual style—an oversized DENIM SHIRT paired with sleek REGULAR DENIM PANTS—so it felt really fresh.

KANON　It was a denim set-up, but the fabric itself was soft, which made for a cool outfit with a relaxed feel. It made me realize denim can be worn in this kind of easygoing way, so it was a valuable experience for me.

Even in their casual conversations with one another, fashion comes up often. What first sparked their love of fashion differs from member to member, but it seems their activities as STARGLOW and the influence they have on one another have also played no small part.

KANON　I first got interested in clothes around middle school. Once I hit adolescence and started becoming more conscious of how other people saw me, I began thinking I should put more effort into what I wore. My best friend and I would go around vintage shops, trying to figure out how to look stylish on a budget. At the time, I’m sure I thought I looked cool—but looking back, it was wild (laughs). It’s only recently that I’ve been able to look at myself objectively and think, “This styling looks good today!”

RUI　Before I knew it, I was really into clothes, and I think the trigger was probably anime. I’d look at characters and think, “So this kind of fashion exists too,” and I’d get inspired by the color combinations they used. Nana had a huge influence on me. From there, I started noticing stylish people on the street and taking in little hints hidden in everyday life one by one, and somewhere along the way, I fell in love with fashion.

GOICHI　Back then, I didn’t own many clothes, so I used to copy celebrities’ outfits using whatever I already had. Recently, since the members have started going shopping together, my closet has gradually filled out, and I’ve been enjoying fashion more than ever.

TAIKI　Same as GOICHI—I’ve only really started loving clothes more recently. When I go around stores with the members, I discover new styles, and when I see the outfits our stylists put together, I realize, “Oh, this kind of combination works too.” That’s when I started noticing how interesting fashion can be. For example, I used to wear only oversized clothes, but then I realized fitted pieces actually suit me too. It’s fun to challenge myself with new styles.

ADAM　I’ve always been really interested in fashion, but my world definitely expanded after becoming part of STARGLOW. The other four are all really stylish too, and because each of them has a different style, they inspire me. Every time we do a shoot like this, I discover so many new things, and that makes it fun for me too.

Just like their personalities, their styles are completely different from one another. In the way they all say, almost in unison, “Everyone has their own individuality, and everyone’s great,” you can sense the mutual respect they have for each other, as well as the closeness of best friends spending their youth together.

TAIKI　Like I mentioned earlier, discovering new fashion made me branch out. I originally liked streetwear, but now I’ve started wearing slightly more polished pieces like check shirts and polo shirts, thinking, “Maybe this suits me too.” Since becoming part of STARGLOW, the kind of clothes I wear has changed. But everyone else has basically stayed the same, right?

ADAM　TAIKI definitely changed, but including that, I think everyone has really established their own style. Even if I tried incorporating the silhouette of RUI’s pants, or GOICHI’s tucked-in shirt style, or copied TAIKI’s look with a polo shirt and cap, or wore the American casual or punk styles that suit KANON, they just wouldn’t look right on me. From my perspective, everyone has their own appeal.

KANON　ADAM can pull off clean, polished styles with jackets and things like that so effortlessly. And it works because it’s ADAM.

RUI　We actually tried swapping outfits once.

ADAM　I tried on KANON’s check shirt and rimless glasses…and well, it was a total disaster (laughs).

All　(laughs)

GOICHI　The categories of items we actually wear or buy are different, but we tend to like a lot of the same stores. That’s because if one of us finds a store we like, we share it with the others.

RUI　When our schedules line up, we all go together to shops in Harajuku or Omotesando. Since each of us has a different style, no one ends up buying the same things, and it’s fun just seeing that. Personally, when it comes to choosing items, I think GOICHI is incredibly good at it.

GOICHI　Thank you.

RUI　Of course, everyone’s good at it. But GOICHI can pull off clothes from any era, whether it’s vintage or archive pieces. That’s only possible because he understands what suits him and what he likes. I really admire how he chooses items with such a deep understanding of himself.

GOICHI　I also think RUI’s endless love for clothes has always been amazing.

RUI　Thank you.

GOICHI　Out of all the members, RUI buys the most clothes, and I like how he has this attitude of, “If I think it’s good, I buy it.” He just has such a sharp eye for fashion. Also, one day RUI gave me about five pieces of clothing he no longer wore, saying they would suit me. That spirit of his is genuinely cool too.

RUI　Hao.

GOICHI　Hao.

KANON　Those two are in their own world now (laughs).

While valuing other people’s perspectives, they also have a determination to trust and pursue what they personally love. It feels likely that this attitude applies not only to fashion, but to their performances as well. Wanting to know more about each of their sensibilities, we asked, “What does fashion mean to you?”—and it felt like we caught a glimpse of the way each of the five sees the world.

GOICHI　It’s like the “title” of the day, maybe. Your mood at that moment, what you’re into, what’s influencing you—it all comes out directly. It’s that person’s theme for the day. If you think, “Whatever, I’ll just throw something on today,” that casualness will show. And if you think, “Today I’m going all in,” then it’ll probably look more put together.

TAIKI　Yeah, I get that. For me too, it’s the thing that expresses who I am right now more than anything else. It lets you express your mindset and mood, and other people can sense that too. Including things like, “This is what I used to be like,” I think it can also be a way of getting to know a person.

KANON　I think it’s something that connects to motivation. When I put together an outfit that feels really good, it makes me incredibly happy, and it feels like it adds color to my whole day. And if someone compliments what I’m wearing, it lifts my mood even more. I feel it’s important for keeping myself in a positive state of mind.

RUI　This might sound abstract, but I think clothes are the expression of the person wearing them. When I look at someone and think, “This person is really cool,” it’s often because I can feel from their overall look that they genuinely love clothes. It’s similar to what TAIKI said, but in the sense that fashion is a form of self-expression, I feel like without clothes, a person isn’t fully complete. I think people become who they are by wearing clothes as another kind of “body.”

ADAM　I feel the same way—clothes are like your face. If I can be in a style that satisfies me, it gives me confidence, and even when someone is wearing a genre of clothing that’s different from mine, I still think they look cool if they’re confident in their own style. I think that confidence creates the impression of being “refined.” At the same time, just like smiling when you want to brighten your mood, fashion is also the quickest way to move toward the image of the person you want to become.

Clothes do more than enhance outward appearance—they also strengthen the heart. Through the words of RUI, TAIKI, KANON, GOICHI, and ADAM, we were reminded of the power and appeal of fashion. As they continue to thrive across a variety of fields, their fashion is something we’ll definitely want to keep watching as well.

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Direction : Shinsuke Nozaka
Photo, Movie : Yoshiaki Sekine
Stylist : Kosei Matsuda
Hair & Make up : Asuka Izawa／Seika Tsutani／ERI MORITA (MASTER LIGHTS)
Text : Hisamoto Chikaraishi (S/T/D/Y)
video: Akio Oda