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Sabukaru.online Article: The Anti-Hero of Fashion
WACKO MARIA - The Anti-Hero of Fashion
Everyone loves a rebel; we are naturally drawn to them. We’ve seen it time and time again, especially when it comes to the entertainment industry. From anime such as Dragon Ball, where we’d argue that many fans prefer Vegeta to Goku, to films where the main character is a charming bad boy.
Very rarely though, do we see this in the form of brand language and imagery. Usually, brands like to play it conventional: being the skater head, the eco-friendly warrior, the functional mastermind. Few brands really capture an antagonist image and thrive because of it.
Well, one brand harnesses this antihero essence, and charmingly plays with it. That brand is Japanese fashion legend, WACKO MARIA [@wackomaria_guiltyparties] - the ‘guilty parties’ amongst a sea of do-gooders within the Japanese fashion industry that is defining the Japanese bad boy image in Japan, and with its laid-back approach creates one of the most irresistibly likeable brands in history.
From using the devil’s lettuce insignia on their air fresheners to labelling their stockists as ‘dealers,’ through to using models drenched head to toe in tattoos, WACKO MARIA is unorthodox but creates a devilish gravitational pull towards them where we can’t help but love them. Effortlessly stylish, the sexy collision of 70s and 80s jazz fashion meets rockabilly rebel creates a sense of cool that is unrivalled.
To understand why and how this vision works so well, we need to recap on the journey of WACKO MARIA; from their emergence onto the fashion scene to the now long-standing legacy they hold.