This week, what are the roots of WIZZARD's iconic LAYERED PANTS?
I'd like to tell you a little about LAYERED PANTS.
LAYERED PANTS are a WIZZARD staple, but I'd like to tell you a little about how they came to be.
The initial idea for LAYERED PANTS came about in 2007 when I was planning new pant designs.
At the time, the music I often listened to in the office was 90's alternative rock and 00's electro music.
Perhaps because of that, the first styles that came to mind were those of grunge and alternative rock musicians and street fashion.
I admired the freedom and casualness of their style and often imitated it – wearing sweatpants or thermals layered under shorts.
At the same time, when I was planning the pants, I was also frequently attending techno and electro music events and rave parties. So, I started creating LAYERED PANTS with the concept of making something that could be worn in any situation, whether in the city or at an outdoor party, and that would also be "stylish"!
These pants have been continuously refined and updated since their creation in 2007, and are still being made today.
I'd like to talk a little more about how 90's grunge and alternative rock musicians and street fashion influenced the creation of LAYERED PANTS.
I think I first started listening to grunge and alternative rock music around 1989. I was a student with no money yet.
At that time, I was completely absorbed in skateboarding and band activities, which I had been doing since then, and school assignments were an afterthought. Sorry, Mom and Dad... lol
I remember that there wasn't even a genre called grunge at first.
I'm pretty sure... my nerdy music-loving friends and I used to call it "junk."
(Just to be sure, I checked. According to Wikipedia, it's a music genre term born in Japan, mainly referring to noise rock in America.)
Anyway, in the 1990s, I was a disobedient son, constantly digging for obscure underground bands around Seattle and Washington D.C., and skateboarding every day.
I never imagined that NIRVANA's NEVERMIND would be a huge hit and that a full-blown grunge boom would arrive.
After the breakthrough of NIRVANA's NEVERMIND, magazines and records filled record stores, including Tower Records, and for me at the time, they were valuable sources of information.
Both imported and domestic music magazines featured NIRVANA on their covers.
Inevitably, I saw NIRVANA and Kurt Cobain, whose playing style was unique and cool, but his good looks and distinctive fashion style also caught my eye.
Another member of NIRVANA who personally attracted me was Dave Grohl!! (He's now in Foo Fighters.)
His fashion style, for me, a skateboarder at the time, had a perfect mix of street and grunge that I found incredibly cool, and I was influenced by it and often imitated him.
I used to cut old U.S. Army M-51 pants to knee-length and wear them myself, but the idea of "wearing thermals or sweatpants under shorts!" wasn't something I had back then. The combination of Dave Grohl's fashion style and looks stuck vividly in my mind, and I still remember it clearly today.
That's how the music scene and culture had a close influence on the creation of WIZZARD's LAYERED PANTS.
It's been a long story, but I'd be very happy if this story sparked your interest in the bands and culture of that time, and in WIZZARD's layered pants.
See you next time in LINER NOTES VOL.3.
The style of wearing layers under shorts.
Dave Grohl in the Nirvana era, whom I admired, separately from Kurt Cobain.
As an aside, I wore sneakers like VANS ERA and NIKE VANDAL.
And they suited this style, and this person, so well.
The evolution of LAYERED PANTS.
This is a bit separate from Dave Grohl, whom I just mentioned.
There have been various specification improvements and design changes until the current model.
The first model started with a complete docking of shorts and a specially brushed sweat material, and then garment-dyed.
Later, because I often went to TECHNO and ELECTRO MUSIC events and rave parties at the time, the idea of detachable leggings for versatility was born, to meet conditions like it being hot during the day and cold at night.
The initial idea was almost entirely for comfortable enjoyment, but it also proved versatile as streetwear and was well-received by everyone. (laughs)
In addition, details and specifications have been changed throughout the seasons, and the LAYERED PANTS continue to evolve to suit the scene up to the current model.
VOL.1 https://wizzard.stores.jp/news/61b9cd652ee5c27732582351