[ Acid Glaciers; ], the new capsule collection from Japanese fashion house Julius, combines the raw beauty of nature with a brutal, urban edge to create pieces that completely destroy boundaries. Bleached, painted and thrashed by hand, the garments manage to cast a haunting shadow over their distressed white exterior. To launch the collection, the label teamed up with conceptual L.A. fashion boutique, H. Lorenzo, for a special installation in the shop's gallery space. Down in the basement, The Brvtalist helped with the party, playing a DJ set alongside Delroy Edwards (LA Club Resource) and Gene's Liquor. Before the night began, we were fortunate enough to sit down with Julius designer Tatsuro Horikawa and talked about the new collection, his interest in new wave and what's coming up next. Read our conversation below:

*homepage photo by Phil America

The Brvtalist: I love the name [ Acid Glaciers; ]. Talk about the title and concept behind the collection.

Tatsuro Horikawa: It is a natural body and there are two images that drive the collection I think: the first being acid rain, melting and shifting with the shapes of glaciers. The other is the idea of a glacier itself being acid, in regards to the earth. We thought we could represent this the best way through denim but did not want it to be too pristine or too white. In our minds the pieces are mixed with the soil which is why they appear the way they do.

TB: Talk about the process behind making each piece.

TH: We took original plain black denim and bleached, distressed and painted it all by hand. At times the process looked like a live fight breaking out while we worked on, and ultimately destroyed the denim.

TB: There's a lot of rips and fringes too, it's almost like acid dripping through the garments.

TH: Yes, very much so. We wanted to make it look like it was damaged by acid.

TB: Traditionally Julius collections have been all black. What made you decide to work with white now?

TH: Well actually this collection is still black.

TB: {laughs} That's a good point. Just a totally different take on it. Now let's talk about the installation itself, which was something that was created just for this space.

TH: With such a natural influence behind it, we wanted to make it in a more contemporary way. The soil is meant to be just that but we wanted to recreate the glaciers with the pieces themselves.

TB: Earlier we were talking about music and I have always said I think Julius incorporates music better than anyone. How important is it to introduce the musical element into the collections.

TH: For me, music is the most important.

TB: I couldn't agree more. Do you make music yourself?

TH: I do not. I was in a band in high school but not since then. I do have a rich history within the Japanese music community and have been around it forever.

*photos by Phil America

TB: Would love to hear your thoughts about LA. What do you like about coming here?

TH: This is only my second time in L.A. We did an event here 6 six years ago, also at H. Lorenzo, which was much darker and inspired by noise. So now it's kind of nice to come back and put the two pieces together.

TB: I also wanted to touch on neon. It's prevalent in the installation and here in the city of L.A. I always feel like the neon here gives the whole city a certain look and lighting. You can always tell when a photo was taken in L.A.

TH: Exactly. I love neon as well but didn't want to make it too obvious. The way we incorporated it into the soil is nice I think.

TB: Speaking of neon, I hear you're really into new wave right now. For me, it's the best fashion, music, everything. What about it are you drawn to?

TH: It's funny because I was sort of anti-that type of 80's for a long time. The image that it had was just not my thing. But as I dug deeper and discovered genres like dark wave and cold wave, I wanted to learn more about that.

TB: What about designing right now is keeping you interested?

TH: For me, the collection always starts with music. When I am interested in something I think about how I can make it reflect me. For example, being that I am interested in new wave at the moment, there is so much to explore and it takes off from there.

TB: What's the next collection?

TH: The next collection will be more "alternative", with some psychedelic elements as well.

TB: Kinda 90's?

TH: Yes, definitely a little 90's

TB: I was never really a 90's fan, even when it was happening, but now that we're a little removed, it's become a lot more interesting. I think there were some similarities politically speaking as well.

TH: I agree. I was sort of fed up with a lot things recently and I think there was a similar feeling during the 90's. But to me "alternative" is not the bands you typically think of but something like Future Sound of London, is alternative to me.

TB: I couldn't agree more.

Thank you to Joshua for the assistance and to Tatsuro Horikawa for taking the time to speak with us. [ Acid Glaciers: ] is available now at H Lorenzo.

-JRS

photos from the basement party: