Clothing, Ura-HaraGuest Userjapanese, subculture, original, culture, japan, collection, fashion, fashion design, styling, skate, hectic

An Exploration on HECTIC: A Skate Brand Icon

Clothing, Ura-HaraGuest Userjapanese, subculture, original, culture, japan, collection, fashion, fashion design, styling, skate, hectic
An Exploration on HECTIC: A Skate Brand Icon

A few weeks ago Sabukaru sat down with Tokyo legend Yoshifumi Egawa for an interview on his upcoming and legacy in the Ura-Hara scene.

A notable part of this legacy is HECTIC, a brand which we want to take a deep dive into here.

 
 

Founded in 1994 by pro skater Yoppi and vintage collector Naotake Magara, HECTIC started as a select store in the thriving surroundings of Harajuku’s backstreets. Having close relationships to local and international legends like FUTURA, Stash and KAWS, the select shop was able to stock the brands of their friends together with bigger western names like Helly Hansen, Vans or Polo - the kind of stuff that was hard to get elsewhere in Japan at the time. Thus, HECTIC was able to make a name for themselves quickly and they became an integral part of the blossoming scene. 

 
 

A few years later, Yoppi would start an in-house line under the name “realmadHECTIC”, subsequently ending the select shop concept and leading to the breakthrough of the brand in 1999. After this, satellite stores were opened in major Japanese cities. The brands handwriting was heavily inspired by Yoppi’s background in skating, but still, the often playful 2000s streetwear look was complemented by more mature elements of outdoor, americana and vintage. 

 
 

The friendship to artists like KAWS and Stash lived on through collaborative efforts like “NJYP” by HECTIC and Subware or a series of KAWS companions. Other major collaborations included a famous series of New Balance releases like with Mita on the MT580 in 1996, or often together with western streetwear giants such as Stüssy or Undefeated. These releases gained wider worldwide attention and are coveted among collectors, but other than that, HECTIC always stayed under the radar outside of Japan.

 
 

This did not change despite the acquisition by major apparel company “World” in 2008, that was supposed to handle the business side of things while the HECTIC team could focus on the design work. However, HECTIC stopped releasing after 2011 and was officially shut down in 2012. The brand continues to have fans and collectors to this day, especially because of its “if you know you know”-appeal and distinct, skate-related design language.