The man, the myth, the legend. I am talking about none other than Hiroshi Fujiwara.
He is often called the “Godfather of Streetwear,” and he may be exactly that, but he is also so much more than that! One of the first Influencers in a time before the takeover of social media, a tastemaker for local creatives, a DJ, as well as a Designer and a mentor for a whole generation of creatives. His influence reaches far beyond just Streetwear.
Hiroshi grew up in Ise, a small city in the Mie Prefecture in Japan. As a teenager, he developed a strong interest in fashion, and first things first was his love for Seditionaires, the Brand by Vivienne Westwood and Malcom McLaren that was always seen on the Sex Pistols. It's no surprise since the Sex Pistols did embody youth spirit as well as teenage rebellion like no other group during their time.
Punk, London, and a deep Friendship with the Punk Idols
When Hiroshi was in Junior High school, the Sex Pistols were taking over the world by Storm, and also captured the young man's heart. Eventually, he wanted to start dressing like them, which by that time was very tricky, since, unlike now, there were no Westwood stores all over the world that carried the punk Queens fashion. But one Store called Akafuji in Nagoya was carrying their clothes. Since that was a bit distant, he asked a friend of his sister who was living there to buy the clothes for him.
“When I woke up to fashion, the first thing I fell in love with was the punk style that Vivienne designed.”
His love for Punk and Malcolm's and Viviennes' clothes eventually led him to London. During his travels to London, he visited the legendary Seditionaries (later SEX and now Worlds End) Boutique on King's Road. Soon, he would go on to befriend Vivienne and Malcom. Hanging out at the Store and drinking tea with them.
Later, he showcased his collection together with Jun Takahashi by publishing a book, which you can check out here.
HipHop, Tinnie Punx / Tiny Panx & DJing
One time during his stay in London, he was talking to McLaren, who then suggested to Hiroshi that he should go to New York City in America (a few years prio,r McLaren imported Punk from NYC and brought it to London). And Hiroshi followed the advice of his friend.
New York should change Fujiwara and provoke a shift in interests, while going there in search of Punk, he found something he did not expect to find before: Hip-Hop. With its unique sound and distinctive style, and attitude, the emerging genre caught his heart. He bought some records and took them home with him to Japan. Upon his arrival back in Tokyo (where he first moved at the age of 18), he started DJing in the local clubs in Harajuku. But simply spinning the decks sure wasn't enough for him.
In 1985, together with Kan Takagi, he would form the HipHop duo called Tinnie Punx or later Tiny Panx. Here is a video of one of their very first concerts. They were growing quickly in popularity and even became the opening act for the Beastie Boys during their Japan tour. This all happened in a time when Hip-Hop was not as popular yet, so they set the foundation for later Japanese Hip-Hop artists and enthusiasts.
Later in 1988, they would co/found the first Japanese HipHop record label MAJOR FORCE alongside Toshio Nakanishi (Tycoon To$h) and Masayuki Kudo (K.U.D.O).
Shin Takizawa (founder of NEIGHBORHOOD) also worked at MAJOR FORCE and became friends with Hiroshi during that time (who would tell him to get a job since Shin was only hanging around all the time), so the latter proceeded to funnel his love for biker culture into the now infamous Brand: NEIGHBORHOOD.
Last Orgy
Together with his friend Kan Takagi he also wrote a column wich was called “Last Orgy”. The Name originates form the Song “Last Orgy” which was released by Tinnie-Punx a HipHop group under MAJOR FORCE that Hiroshi Fujiwara was part of, they did lay the foundation for HipHop in Japan and also once were the opening act for the Beastie Boys in Japan.
They would be writing about Punk and Hip-Hop, fashion, as well as music. Yeah, just anything cool they liked or recently stumbled upon. It was published in the Japanese magazine “Takarajima The column quickly became insanely popular in Japan, and it eventually became so popular that it aired on Japanese TV via FM_TV. The late-night show mostly documents the street and nightlife of the notorious Harajuku district in Tokyo, as well as talks about recent interests.
Since the TV show was perceived by even more people it's no surprise that it also influenced a young Tomoaki Nagao, better known as NIGO, to study fashion at Bunka College in Tokyo. Nagao idolised Fujiwara to the point that he recorded every episode of the show, and he even picked up his nickname NIGO, which means as much as Hiroshi Fujiwara Ni Go, which translates to Hiroshima Fujiwara the second!
NIGO should also meet Jun Takahashi at Bunka (the biggest fashion University in Japan), the now worldwide known Designer of Undercover. Together they started “Last Orgy 2” which was published in the magazine “Popeye”. Here you can take a look at some of the articles.
Both versions of the show & column were incredibly important for the development of the Japanese streetwear and fashion scene and had a broader influence across a generation of young fashion and music enthusiasts!
Stussy Tribe and GOOD ENOUGH
It's a well-known story that Shawn Stüssy traveled around the world in the mid-80s hanging out with creatives and giving his clothes to them as a way to promote his brand Stüssy. He formed a group of creatives, which served as influencers/tastemakers for his Brand. When Shawn arrived in Japan, he met none other than Hiroshi Fujiwara, who was then DJing in the clubs of Harajuku and bringing Hip-Hop to Japan. Naturally, they both cliqued in an instant, and Hiroshi became a part of the now infamous Stüssy Tribe.
Hanging out with Shawn and watching Stüssys popularity rise gave him the idea of starting his own brand: GOODENOUGH
Back then Sk8thing (Designer CavEmpt) a friend and fellow Designer who also developed the now famous BAPE camouflage came to him and said: “So he came to me, Hey Hiroshi, let’s make a tee shirts, you know, cause like Stussy or like punks movement or have a printing t-shirt. So, you know, he asked me to come, let’s yeah, let’s do it.” (Business of Hype Podcast EP1) so in 1990 they started printing and selling T-Shirts. But kept their identity hidden at first, so fans would not buy it because it was made by Hiroshi (who at that time was already quite famous in Japan) but rather because of appreciation of their art. The brand was doing well and even collaborated with some other brands like: Supreme, Porter Yoshida & Co and Nike.
NIGO and Jun Takahashi, whose nickname is “Jonio”, also worked at the brand, earning themselves a deeper insight into how to found and grow a brand. Based on that, they would go on ahead to start their own labels, Undercover and A Bathing Ape in Lukewarm Water, aka BAPE. GOODENOUGH operated until 2017, retailing their T-shirts to select stores until they officially closed for business.
Electric Cottage
In 1994, Hiroshi Fujiwara would found the predecessor of Fragment Design: Electric Cottage. The OG Brand that first featured the double thunderbolt logo. They printed T-shirts and collaborated with some other brands. In 2003, Electric Cottage would move on to become Fragment Design.
FRAGMENT or the “collaboration era”
With the closure of Electric Cottage and later on GOODENOUGH, it was time for Hiroshi to start a new project. That should be his current brand: Fragment Design, aka FRGMT.
With Fragment Design, Hiroshi took a different approach this time. The brand does not manufacture clothes or other products itself; it rather collaborates with different brands to create unique products that are well executed in design and quality. Hiroshima philosophy here is that he only collaborates with brands that produce products he would like to wear or own himself. By that, he ensures the “coolness” of the product.
Some collaborations include:
Nike (Jordan 1 FRGMT, CLOT x FRGMT, Travis Scott x FRGMT), Louis Vuitton, Polaroid, Tamagotchi, Moncler, Undercover, Off White, Stussy, VanMoof, Bulgari, Tag Heuer, Levis, just to name a few. As you can already see that in current times all the big players come to Hiroshima and ask to work with him, since a Fragment collaboration most likely means the product will sell out.
HTM
Some may know, others don’t, but there is a very special product line from Nike, which is called HTM.
HTM is short for Hiroshi Fujiwara, Tinker Hatfield, and Mark Parker. Since 2002, this iconic line has produced some of the best products Nike has ever released and driven innovation forward as no other. The Nike Flyknit traces its origins back to that very line (2012).
THE POOL Aoyama
Recently, Fujiwara also got into designing spaces like the concept store “THE POOL” in Aoyama.
An old swimming pool that got transformed into a store is a pretty cool idea and gives a pretty unique touch to the space. Together with Nobuo Araki, he transformed the old pool into a welcoming Store.
PARK ING GINZA
Working again with Nobuo Araki on this space, which is located in the basement of the SONY building in Tokyo, got transformed from a parking garage into a concept store that hosted pop-ups from March 2016 until March 2017. But simply calling it a concept store would not do it justice, as it also includes a cafe and an art gallery. At the level B4, customers could shop at the concept store, and at B3 there was the reopened Cafe de Rope, which was a nostalgic factor for Hiroshi as he often went there in the 70s to drink tea.
Hiroshi Fujiwara’s legacy proves that true cultural impact isn’t confined to a single lane—it’s built through curiosity, community, and constant reinvention. From pioneering Japanese streetwear to shaping global music, design, and fashion, Fujiwara continues to influence generations of creatives who see him not just as a tastemaker but as a blueprint. As street culture evolves, his work reminds us why he remains the Godfather of Streetwear—and why his story still matters today.
