Brush Zero Ver 1.0 (1998)

Very rare Urahara Fashion "Bible"

Brush Zero Ver 1.0 Cover

Information on the Brush Zero publication seems to be pretty difficult to track down, but then again so is most information regarding Urahara fashion, so when I say this one come up for sale I knew I had to grab it. The magazine acts as an Ura-Harajuku bible of sorts and details many of the earliest designs from brands like Undercover, Number (N)ine, BountyXHunter, and NEIGHBORHOOD. While many of these brands have become pretty well known and popular today, during the late 90’s much of the Western world was just beginning to fond out about them. One of the main reasons I began collecting and scanning magazines is because of how difficult it was to track down accurate information regarding these brands. So much of it was gatekept and only travelled by word of mouth or “if you know, you know.” Come with me as we travel back in time to the golden age or Urahara street fashion!

Table of Contents

First up we have NEIGHBORHOOD, founded by Shinsuke Takizawa in 1994 his brand drew elements from Punk Rock music and Military surplus gear. In this brief editorial we get a little bit of it all, M65 fishtail parkas with fur lined hoods and Derby shoes to a NEIGHBORHOOD branded K9 unit bullet proof style vest and hiking boots. I’ve always really appreciated how Takizawa was able to take these themes and mix them together to create something unique.

NEIGHBORHOOD feature from Brush Zero

Moving on we have a short photo feature from Hikaru Iwanaga from BountyXHunter. BxH was also very inspired by Punk culture with a little bit of motorcycle style thrown in as well. The model in these photos wears a thick leather biker style jacket customized with a skeleton outline, fishnet stockings, and biker boots next to Hikaru’s second art toy Skull-Kun. The photos were also shot by Hikaru Iwanaga himself!

BountyXHunter feature from Brush Zero

Next up we have a pretty rare editorial from Number (N)ine. Started in 1997 by Takahiro Miyashita, this editorial features clothing from the A/W 1998 collection. Miyashita’s brand was heavily inspired by music and frequently referenced the Beatles and Nirvana in his collections. The brand’s name was inspired by a Beatles record called “Revolution 9” and in 2010 Miyashita ended the Number (N)ine project on Febuary 20th, Kurt Cobain’s birthday. The brand really took of in the early 2000’s so its super cool to see something from him in the late 90’s.

Number (N)ine A/W98 feature from Brush Zero

Now here is when we get into the “bible” part of the magazine. Starting with T-Shirts, they display the first tee’s from brands such as GoodEnough, Bathing Ape, Undercover, General Research, LetItRide, Nowhere, Goro’s, and Electric Cottage. The early graphics for these brands were so raw and simple yet creative. Highlights include the Last Orgy clothing, Cornelius shirts and Knitwear from Bape, the iconic G logo shirts from GoodEnough, and early one off’s from Undercover.

Early GoodEnough T-Shirts

Various early Harajuku T-Shirts

Early outerwear items from Undercover, Bape, and NEIGHBORHOOD

When I say this magazine is a goldmine, I mean it. Brush Zero also features an article explaining the influence of the Sex Pistols, Vivienne Westwood, and Malcolm McLaren. Jun Takahashi, Hiroshi Fujiwara, Hikaru Iwanaga, and Nobuhiko Kitamura were very influenced by them and not only collected their clothing but also formed a Sex Pistols cover band called Tokyo Sex Pistols. Look at the photo of young Jonio singing his lungs out.

The Legend of Vivienne Westwood Article

Just to finish things off, Brush Zero travelled all over major cities in Japan to capture some street snaps in many cities including Nagoya, Sendai, Osaka, Tokyo, and Fukuoka. These fits are next level and way ahead of their time.

Street Snaps from Brush Zero

Thats all for now folks, I hope you have enjoyed seeing this deep dive in to the late 90’s Urahara street scene. Remember, full magazines are available in PDF form for paid subscribers!

Check out the full scans below!