The pennant race in professional baseball has reached its climax with the magic lights on in both the Central League and the Pacific League. Many people are probably disappointed with the early game difference this season. Hanshin and Orix , too strong!
Now, there are fashion trends in the baseball world as well, and what can I say, the Giants lead that in Japan. What they wear becomes a trend in professional baseball as a whole, which then spreads to the amateur baseball world, including high school baseball.
To broaden the perspective, the cutting edge of baseball fashion can be found in MLB. Straight hat brims, oversized uniforms, performances, etc. . The cutting edge is always MLB.
STANCE is a sock manufacturer that is used by all MLB teams. The socks, which have their roots in West Coast culture, are very popular on the streets for their comfort, functionality, and good looks.
. and this January, the Giants, Japan's fashionista baseball team, finally joined forces with Stance to make Stance the team's official socks this season. Japan's fashionista baseball team, the Giants, has finally joined forces with "Stance" and has adopted "Stance" as the team's official socks starting this season.
To commemorate the event, Stance ambassador, skater and artist Russ Pope made an emergency visit to Japan. He watched the Giants game, visited skate stores, and had a great time in Tokyo. Check out the whole thing on YouTube below.
HOUYHNHNM's editorial staff wanted to know about the appeal of "Stance," his love for baseball, skateboarding, etc., so we went in for an interview with him. Mr. Russ, please tell us a lot about yourself!
Russ Pope loves the Angels and the Red Sox.
PROFILE
Born in 1970 . Originally from California , he currently resides in Boston. He has collaborated with numerous brands as an artist and has influenced the skateboarding scene as a professional skateboarder. He has been an ambassador for Stance since its inception.
Instagram:@russpope
Mr. Russ, how do you like Tokyo?
Russ: It's always fun to come here!
How many times have you been to Japan?
Russ: This is my sixth time . I've been to Greenroom Festival and art shows like Pilgrim Surf+Supply, but my main purpose this time is to watch the Giants game, so it's a little different from what I usually do.
Where does Mr. Rath live now?
Russ: Boston, Massachusetts ... I moved here 8 years ago from California.
. Speaking of Boston, the Red Sox, right?
Russ: Yeah , exactly.
Masataka Yoshida.
Russ: He is GREAT! . By the way, I saw a matchup between Yoshida and Ohtani in Boston the other night. I used to live in California, so I like the Angels too. That game was great and a lot of fun!
How did you like the Giants game you saw yesterday?
Russ: It was my first time watching sports in Japan , so it was exciting. The Giants won and it was a lot of fun! . And it was fun to meet legendary coaches and players at the field level.
. You also painted while watching the games, didn't you?
Russ: I often paint at MLB games, too, while watching. And I painted this one yesterday. I think I did a good job.
Stance and Baseball.
I understand that the Giants players are now wearing "Stance" socks, and you attended the game as part of that effort.
Russ: One of the founding members of Stance was Ryan Kingman. He is a major figure in American skate culture, and he works as an advisor for various brands and has many connections with the riders. When we did our first art collaboration for Stance, he asked me if I wanted to be a part of it. He asked me if I would like to be an ambassador for Stance.
Thank you very much. What do you think is the appeal of "Stance"?
Russ: Stance calls its ambassadors "punks and poets," and among them are singer Rihanna and NBA player James Harden. There are many punk poets who are not only skaters and surfers, but also black culture, sports, music, and other genres, and the mix of these poets is great.
Another thing I love about them is that they simply make socks that are in great shape. The quality is really high. Many of my friends are very particular about their socks, but they all love Stance socks.
Stance" has a strong cultural flavor, but I understand that it is also very comfortable to wear.
Russ: Culture brands are only in that aspect, but Stance has a solid background in West Coast culture, but is also super technical and thoroughly particular about fabrics and sewing. Both culture and quality are the most important characteristics of Stance. There are very few brands like that, don't you think?
Russ, do you wear "Stance" when you skateboard?
Russ: Of course. . I mean, I don't wear anything else but these (laughs). (Laughs.) The ones I'm wearing now are also a standard series when I skateboard. But the thickness of the fabric and the grip varies depending on the collection, so there are ones for snowboarding and ones for biking. The ones the Titans are wearing are for baseball.
The stance is to mash up everything.
I think of skateboarding as radical and baseball as conservative. I think they are opposites, but you like both, and I think that's unusual.
Russ: We were just talking about this at breakfast, and I was saying that the older generation, the ones who have been skating and surfing, have this sense of "sports is f**k!" ." and that's the way some people feel about it. . . and the same with music, skaters don't listen to jazz. To be honest, I was the same way, and so was everyone else in that generation, but as I grew older, I realized that baseball was fun. It's the same with music. I used to only listen to punk, but now I listen to jazz, Brazilian, Latin, and so on.
But that's just us. Young people today live in a mixed culture from the beginning. It is common to see young, active skaters who also play golf.
. Nowadays, children are not biased.
Russ: Yes, it's a mashup . I like heavy metal, jazz, skating, everything . If I had said, "I like jazz" or "I like golf" when I was younger, my fellow skaters would have said, "You should go home" (laughs).
Russ, do you have a positive view of the younger generation that is mashing up?
Russ: Of course. I wish everyone could be like that. . it's not just music and sports, but also gender. For example, it's totally cool for a gay kid to dress up as a woman and skateboard. I think it's coolest when people can do what they want and be accepted for it.
The painting was painted by Russ in his home country.
Limited edition of 100 silkscreened prints of the work,
I gave them to players, coaches, and stores that carry "Stance" as gifts when I visited them.
." That's exactly what "Stance" is about, isn't it? There are baseball players, singers, artists, and skaters . We wanted to mash up all of them and bring them to all kinds of people.
Russ: Yes, that's right. It's starting to happen, but Stance has been a pioneer for a long time now. And it's through socks. I think that's great.
Can you tell us about your future plans for working with "Stance"?
Russ: We work on collaborations a couple of times a year, and right now we are working on a T-shirt together. . I hope all of my Japanese fans are looking forward to it.
(At this point, a karaage-kun from Lawson was suddenly offered to me.) What, Mr. Russ is a karaage-kun?
Russ: Kara-Age-Kun is good (laughs).
Why again?
Russ: There is a very famous chef in the U.S. He is a guy who trained at a ramen shop in Japan, came back to the U.S. and opened a very successful restaurant. He has eaten all the best food in the world, and when asked on a TV show, "What is the best food in Japan? He answered, "Lawson's food. I went to Lawson for the first time and found the karaage kun, and when I tried it, it was fantastic. So every time I come to Japan, I eat KARAAGE-KUN.
Photo(interview)_Yuma Yoshitsugu
Photo (official)_Yoshifumi Shimizu
Text_Keisuke Kimura
