COMING SOON: JULIUS SS2010

Julius's Spring/Summer 2010 collection is a particularly personal and spiritual one to designer Tatsuro Horikawa. The influence is always present, but to many this collection may be the most literal.

The title, neurbanvolker, a word created with a William S. Burroughs-esque spirit, is meant to represent (in the words of Horikawa himself)...

"NEU: As in new, Germanic and also a reference to the seminal and influential music unit.

URBAN: Of the city , the place where most of us in the modern world are obliged to live either by circumstances or by choice. The city is our battle-ground , our theatre, and our altar.

VOLKER: Germanic meaning tribe, people.

By joining together these elements a new image is created. A new breed of people surviving in the cities by fusing the essential spirit , knowledge and art of the wilderness to deal with the harsh landscape of our new modern environment. This is a collection for this new spirit."

As for the clothes, they are deeply seeded in Asian and Middle Eastern culture and religions. While Julius's collections typically tend towards the black, SS2010 lightened the palette and ran clothes down the runway which might have been bleached by the Middle Eastern sun. As mentioned in Scoute's recent interview, Horikawa spent over two weeks at a temple in Lhasa studying with monks. There he was taught over two-hundred different ways to arrange the traditional Buddhist robe and this experience has obviously been finely tuned into the beautiful draping of this collection.

Julius's clothing possesses a deep-down utilitarian purpose and, while sometimes difficult to imagine, it is always fun to experiment with it in that way. Horikawa is obsessed with the idea of clothing as "protection," and the spring/summer collections allow this idea to truly shine. The cut-and-sew pieces are light enough to layer with even in extreme heat, perfect to protect your body from harmful sun rays. The long wrap cardigans also allow for an adjustable layer of protection, possibly doubling as a towel if you really need to escape from a drippy summer afternoon. The clothes are meant to be worn hard and injected with your own personality.

Keep an eye out for arrivals and, in the meantime, check below for some looks a quick preview of a few of the items we will be receiving. For questions, or to place a pre-order, email info@blackbirdballard.com or call 866.500.2524.