POPEYE, the Japanese magazine that pioneered the "City Boy" style and influenced generations of Asian boys, is celebrating its 46th birthday this June.
POPEYE, which entered real estate last year to celebrate its 45th birthday and built a house on the west coast of the United States, is doing things that are surprising but also unexpected. The company, which has always given lifestyle guidance and advice, is tired of talking without doing, and is determined to build a dream home for boys and girls who love the "City Boy" style.
How is POPEYE going to celebrate its birthday after growing a year older?
The answer is - a limited time online store. After 46 years of borrowing clothes from other brands to be its style guide, it is now going to use its own fashion items to create the most tasteful POPEYE boys and POPEYE girls.
▲ POPEYE online shop homepage interface. Image from: POPEYE
Its online store is open for a short period of time from April 13 at 12:00 to April 26 at 23:59, and it's all pre-sale items that will ship from late May to early June. The store will also open again at intervals by posting ports on Instagram and Twitter. However, products in the store are currently limited to delivery within Japan, much to the dismay of a bunch of users.
POPEYE is now more than just a magazine printed on paper, but an exclusive style that can only be named POPEYE, covering areas such as fashion, music, film, food and home. At the heart of this style is a youthful, life-affirming feel that is applicable to almost all ages.
In a recent issue of the magazine, actor Keita Machida was invited to Ginza for this "shopping" shoot.
▲ Outfit Feature. Image from: POPEYE May 2022 issue
In recent years, the "Girlfriend Album" (also known as the "Dog Food Album"), which comes out every January, has made POPEYE not limited to men, and girls have become the backbone of POPEYE's readership.
The cover of the January issue of POPEYE for the last three years.
▲ Couple Interviews Feature. Image from: POPEYE January 2022 issue
Let's explore the "ageless mystery" of POPEYE boys and girls, starting with the online store that now closes its doors tightly.
Magazines open stores and logos are standard?
The magazine opened an online store to sell clothes and lifestyle items, and POPEYE is not the first of its kind.
American fashion designer Thakoon Panichgul's HommeGirls magazine is a direct reference to "cool girls who like to wear men's clothing" from the title of the magazine. 2019 saw the launch of the publication and the quiet opening of an online store selling basic items with logos as accent pieces.
▲ A recent issue of HommeGirls. Photo via: Instagram @hommegirls
However, these items really became popular because of the bloggers' home collection photos during the 2020 epidemic AT HOMME. One of them is the elastic pants that guys wear at home, with the HommeGirls logo on the elastic waist, which became the most popular item on the internet after the bloggers took the initiative.
▲ Suzanne Koller and Derek Blasberg in the AT HOMME project. photo via: Instagram @hommegirls
▲ HommeGirls presents the shorts piece. Image via: Instagram @hommegirls
Such 'basic pieces' are not really available in the market, as these basic pieces look like blazers, shirts and pants pulled from a boyfriend's wardrobe, but the fit is improved to just fit a girl's body type.
In fact, not only does it fit, but shirts like this one that cut off just above the waist to reveal a tiny waist look a touch unintentionally sexy, which happens to be what these cool girls want most in their hearts.
Also, it's so cool to turn a label like "cool girl who likes to wear men's clothes" into a small embroidered logo that's almost invisible on your body.
▲ HommeGirls presents shirt pieces. Image via: Instagram @hommegirls
Going back to POPEYE's online store, the merchandise is designed and positioned with the same precision aimed at POPEYE boys and girls.
For now, the only items available are a hoodie, t-shirt, towel, file pack, and tape, but it's clear that POPEYE has thought about these items.
▲ POPEYE Online Store Product Preview. Photo from: Instagram @popeye_magazine_official
If you pick up an issue of POPEYE that came out in recent years, the hoodies and t-shirts will be at the top of the list.
▲ Two sets made with grey hooded sweatshirt. Image from: POPEYE March 2022 issue
▲ Grey hooded sweatshirt from POPEYE online store. Image via: Instagram @popeye_magazine_official
Price: 19,800 yen (Rmb 1008)
Moreover, unlike other stores that sell logo T-shirts but neglect quality, POPEYE does not dare to compromise on quality, and uses high-quality products from Kume Textile Industries (KUME.JP), which was founded in 1935 and has been known as "the best T-shirt maker in Japan".
▲ Grey hooded sweatshirt from POPEYE online store. Image from: POPEYE
Price: 6,600 yen ($336 equivalent)
POPEYE has added a residential section to its content in recent years, and as its popularity grows, the residential and even lifestyle content will likely grow as well. This is where a spa towel with the artwork and logos of various illustrators would be very photogenic for the next shoot. Of course, a spa towel is also a super practical everyday item.
▲ T-shirt and spa towel from POPEYE online store. Photo from: Instagram @popeye_magazine_official
Price: 1,100 yen ($56 equivalent)
The first release of the spa towels features the work of Japanese illustrator Masayoshi Suzuki, with two blue outline illustrations presented side by side for a bit of a manga feel. Masayoshi Suzuki is also a regular collaborator with POPEYE, with previous used clothing specials, a Mexican special, and an interior special featuring his illustrations on the cover.
▲ Towels from POPEYE online store. Photo from: Instagram @popeye_magazine_official
The envelope packet that looks like a kraft paper texture (guessing it's dupont paper) is actually an upgraded "replica" of the usual kraft envelope used to send magazines.
It looks too much like an envelope, but actually very practical and well-matched. Remember the brown Dupont paper bag that Alexander Wang previously released in association with McDonald's, which was a conversation starter on the street.
The key to this takeaway bag is the all-too-familiar McDonald's takeaway bag and Alexander Wang's iconic logo; similarly, the POPEYE envelope bag carries the magazine's special meaning and the logo itself, which was taken from the magazine's cover, carries the impression of POPEYE that readers have built up over the years. Carrying this bag with you is as fun as carrying a copy of POPEYE magazine with you at all times.
▲ POPEYE online store launched the document bag. Image via: Instagram @popeye_magazine_official
Price: 4,950 yen ($252)
The rounded POPEYE on the cover is not a fixed font from the font library, but a custom logo hand-drawn by Japanese design master and illustrator Seiichi Horiuchi.
▲ POPEYE word embroidery on the sweatshirt. Photo from: Instagram @popeye_magazine_official
In addition to POPEYE, the logos of other Japanese magazines under Magazine House, AN AN, BRUTUS and Olive, are all the work of Seiichi Horiuchi. The great thing about these logos is that they were positioned from the beginning as "long-lasting and will not get old" logos and have been used ever since.
Moreover, Seiichi Horiuchi was involved in the design of every POPEYE book of the 1970s.
The final product, a tape with the letter P, will be used on the packaging of each package, and will also be sold together on the shelves. Thanks to Seiichi Horiuchi's design, it would have been hard to get people to pay for such a roll of tape with a common font from a common font library.
▲ Tape with the letter P on it. Image via: Instagram @popeye_magazine_official
Price: 1,650 yen ($84)
▲ Logo detail on plain white t-shirt. Image via Instagram @popeye_magazine_official
Made a cultural impact with "catalog"
The use of the same name as the classic American manga Popeye was not an accident, but was intentional on the part of Ryoji Kisai, the editor-in-chief of POPEYE when it was created.
POPEYE was originally ideally titled "City Boys," but its biggest competitor at the time, the subculture magazine Treasure Island, was already billing itself as a "city boys' handbook.
It just so happens that Ryoji Kisai saw Popeye, the English name for Popeye, for the first time a few weeks ago and discovered that the word can be split into "pop" (pop) and "eye" (glasses) - so it can be interpreted as "glasses" staring closely at "pop" , i.e. 'popeye'.
▲ Ryoji Kisai with the first issue of POPEYE in hand. Photo from: Los Angeles Times
Popeye Popeye is a manga image that is a fond childhood memory for Japanese people who grew up in the 1950s, a generation that Ryoji Kisai happens to be a part of. Even though the younger generation objected to the magazine being linked to a manga image, Ryoji Kisai stood his ground and worked hard to get Popeye's authorization to be on the cover of the first issue.
The 40th anniversary issue of POPEYE (issue 831, pictured left) and issue 1 (pictured right). Image from: Hyper Art
▲ Catalogue of POPEYE Issue 1 (designed by Seiichi Horiuchi). Image from: Horiuchi
The inspiration and influence of American culture on POPEYE is far-reaching. Not only did the name and the cover of the first issue come from American comics, but the content and format of the magazine was also inspired by the American magazine Whole Earth Catalog.
The Global Catalog is American activist artist Stewart Brand's superb guide to the tools needed for self-sufficient communities. Brand hopes that the contents of this catalog will help readers develop "a personal capacity to lead their own education, discover their own revelations, shape their own environment, and share their adventures with anyone who is interested."
--W. David Marks
This amazing magazine was also compared by Steve Jobs to the 'Google' before Google came along.
In June 2005, at Stanford University's graduation ceremony, Steve Jobs said, "When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Global Catalog it was one of the bibles of my generation ...... it was kind of like a Google paperback, 35 years before Google came out."
And, Steve Jobs' most iconic quote, "Stay hungry, stay stupid," was inspired by this magazine.
▲ Steve Jobs at the Stanford University commencement lecture table. Photo from: CNN
The Global Catalog represented values that were very different from the Japanese perception of American culture at the time, a new style of American lifestyle.In 1969 illustrator Taihiko Kobayashi and magazine editor Jiro Ishikawa-two of the soulmates during the founding of POPEYE-walked into the Two Day Bookstore in New York and saw the same Global Catalog filled one wall.
Even though there was a lot of confusion about the magazine at the time, they bought a copy to take back to Japan before their trip ended.
▲ Taehiko Kobayashi pictured in front of L. L. Bean's headquarters in Maine, USA. Photo from: Daikanyama Tsutaya Bookstore
When the magazine house was in bad shape in the 1970s, Jiro Ishikawa and Ryohisa Kisai were forced to leave, and it so happened that a magazine editorial project, Ski Special, the basic guide to skiing in Japan, put the two of them together with Yasuhiko Kobayashi to form a team with top-notch editorial skills, but no knowledge of skiing a team that knew nothing about skiing.
Finally, Ski Special, positioned as a technical dry run, became a popular winter fashion magazine for young people and sales broke through to an all-time high. As a result, they immediately received a new demand - a magazine covering upscale goods for men.
▲ Cover of "Ski Special" edited by the team of Ryoji Kisai. Image from: IDEA
▲ Illustration for the inside of Ski Special by Taiko Kobayashi. Image from: Twitter @fukuhen
Yasuhiko Kobayashi proposed making a Japanese version of the Global Catalog, removing the section on Brand's philosophical manifesto and making a mail-order catalog of American products. Made in U.S.A., described in the style of "Ivy's Rugged Outdoor Edition," was born and became popular.
▲《Made in U.S.A》. 图片来自：Grailed
Thanks to the success of Made in U.S.A., Ryoji Kisai and Jiro Ishikawa were able to return to Magazine House in 1976 and set about making a new magazine in a style very different from Made in U.S.A., but still in the form of a catalogue.
After a brainstorming session, the polo shirt became the key word that Tatsuhiko Kobayashi threw out. Although in Japan at the time, only middle-aged golfers wore polo shirts, Taihiko Kobayashi pointed out that polo shirts were the favorite clothing of students at UCLA and the University of Southern California. Immediately afterwards, the sporty style of young people on the West Coast of the United States was set as the direction of the new magazine.
This new magazine, later known as POPEYE.
Issue 1 of the magazine devotes a full 27 pages to life at UCLA during Gerald Ford's administration, including a campus map, photos of dorm life, and the Ackerman Student Union.
The polo shirts are also very informative, with 4 full pages devoted to them. In addition, the 78 sneakers with price tags are highlighted with 7 pages of photos.
In the following issues, POPEYE was the one that made skateboarding and surfing culture from America, popular in Japan.
Before POPEYE was founded, Japanese people were more inclined to learn from Europe in terms of fashion and lifestyle, and anti-American sentiment was strong. But as the sun of the West Coast of America shone through the magazine to more Japanese, the number of Japanese who "liked America" rose year by year in NHK polls, from 18% in 1974 to 39% in 1980.
Hang gliding, skateboarding, all kinds of sneakers ...... It was all brand new. At the time in Japan, students had about two kinds of sneakers and they were cheap and old fashioned, and in LA people looked happy, happy, it was amazing, it was like heaven.
--Ryokyu Kisai
▲ 1977 POPEYE Magazine Cover. Image from: Pinterest
Beams, a Japanese brand that now has stores all over the world, was founded and grew thanks to Made in U.S.A. and POPEYE, with which it has since established a good relationship, and is one of the few businesses that frequently makes the list.
In the 40th anniversary issue of POPEYE, then president of Beams, Shakuyo made it very clear that fashion magazine editors and collection store buyers, whose careers are completely different in nature, actually both serve the public in selecting goods and creating personal style.
▲ POPEYE and Beams 40th Anniversary Collaboration Collection. Image from: Hypebeast
Finding the new age "City Boy" and entering the age of online magazines
Pressured by advertisers, the once alternative and trendsetting POPEYE was reduced to a mediocre fashion magazine in the early 2000s, and its covers became a place for popular celebrities to paint their faces.
The cover and inside of the January 2009 issue of POPEYE. Photo from: Twitter @longride_movie
It wasn't until 2012 that Takahiro Kinoshita, former editor of Brutus, was appointed editor-in-chief of POPEYE, and former stylist of Monocle, Akio Hasegawa, came to work on POPEYE that year. Together, they reawakened the soul of "City Boy" from the founding days of the magazine and gave it a new era of definition and connotation.
▲ Stylist Akio Hasegawa. Image via: YouTube @UnitedArrowsEN
In addition, photographer Aoshi Shirakawa, who was very fond of street selected shots, also became the main character of POPEYE during this period.
How did they revive this legendary magazine?
The most obvious move since Takahiro Kinoshita took over is the overhaul of the cover and the shoot, which will feature more underdeveloped looking boys as models. In terms of styling, Hasegawa Akiyo has changed the magazine's previous clean and sober style to include a more street style.
When it came time to take photos, Aoshi Shirakawa would find interesting little shops in the streets and alleys as photo spots to capture the most lived-in images of urban teenage girls.
▲ Image from: April 2018 issue of POPEYE (the last issue of Takahiro Kinoshita's tenure)
When Takahiro Kinoshita was the editor-in-chief of POPEYE, he gave a clear definition of "City Boy" as "a guy who cares about good looks and is polite and motivated at the same time".
He (Takahiro Kinoshita) wants readers to be people who have a rich spiritual life, are sensitive to fashion, and keep their values intact rather than just blindly pursuing trends, which is the core of City Boy.
--Cherie Kong (MING'S Content Editor)
As a result, 'City Boy' is no longer a niche demographic; men of all ages, professions, and personalities can break through the single definition of style and find their own 'City Boy' attributes. Whether you are a Harajuku rapper, a rebellious skateboarder, or a down-to-earth interior designer, you can be inspired to convey the look designed by Akio Hasegawa.
▲ Image from: April 2018 issue of POPEYE (the last issue of Takahiro Kinoshita's tenure)
In a UNITED ARROWS video of Hasegawa Akio recorded for POPEYE, you can see how much attention Hasegawa Akio paid to life in his looks. It was a beach-themed shoot where he would first crumple the clothes the models wore, and rub the shoes with sand a lot, and spill sand inside and out of the shoes, no doubt a common 'chunky' pair of shoes on the beach.
▲ Akio Hasegawa at work on set. Image from: YouTube @UnitedArrowsEN
Moreover, Akio Hasegawa is very good at putting a down-to-earth face on high-end luxury goods, bringing young Japanese people closer to the psychological distance between them and long-established luxury brands. It's essentially a similar principle to when the magazine was created and brand advertising was embedded in the form of catalogues.
▲ Snacks and flowers on the road can be featured in a photo shoot. Photo from: POPEYE, May 2017 issue
In curating the content, thanks to Takahiro Kinoshita's own love of travel and old things, he made a suggestion to the editorial team that is still very influential - "I wanted POPEYE to introduce a lot of things that young men had not experienced firsthand, and that certainly included travel."
▲ Kyoto Travel Feature. Image from: POPEYE July 2017 Issue
POPEYE has slowly expanded from a purely men's fashion magazine to a guide to men's lifestyle and city culture that even women love to read. Each issue is like a "star scout" that goes into each city to find each boy and girl with "City Boy" qualities and share their outfits and lifestyle footprints.
We have no intention of determining the age of our readers. There are no boundaries between men and women either. It is natural for the younger generation to take an interest in the older generation and vice versa. Therefore, I wanted to create something that would be of value to people in their fifties, as well as something that teenagers could relate to. It is a clear fact that youth is the best time of your life, and this could be a major focus for POPEYE.
--Takahiro Kinoshita
▲ Ryuichi Sakamoto was also featured in POPEYE. Image from: POPEYE March 2018 Issue
However, Takahiro Kinoshita also has another old-school side - he doesn't like smart products, didn't use mobile phones at all before he started working at Uniqlo, and even claimed that he would never let the magazine go electronic as long as he was the editor-in-chief of POPEYE.
The quality of POPEYE suffered significantly in 2018 with the departures of Takahiro Kinoshita, Akio Hasegawa and Aoshi Shirakawa. But after a period of adjustment, it also found the magazine's original tone.
▲ Coffee & Travel Album. Image from: POPEYE November 2021 issue
Following the recent official flip book video, we might as well flip through the latest issue of POPEYE (May 2022 issue).
On March 9, 2021, the online version of the magazine POPEYE WEB was finally launched after a year of conception and production. The content of the online version of the magazine is also distinguished from the paper version by a separate team.
▲ Online version of magazine "POPEYE WEB" homepage. Image from: POPEYE
But instead of following the rules of building a website, POPEYE compares the site to a city - "a fictional city that can only be found on here".
Yota Shiraishi, the designer and engineer responsible for this website, has appropriated the unique typographic style of POPEYE magazine to the website, but a POPEYE that moves, talks and sings.
▲ Comparison of the online version (above) and the paper version (below) under the same topic. Image from: POPEYE
When you open the website, you can see a small grid stacked like assembled furniture. When you scroll down the page, you will feel the design ingenuity of the designer, because no matter where you stay, there will be a small grid moving on the page, which may be an illustration or a video clip, and people who are easily distracted will become focused now.
▲Online version of magazine "POPEYE WEB" homepage. Image from: POPEYE
From pushing the lifestyle of young people on the West Coast of America to Ivy League style coverage on the East Coast; from a boys-only fashion magazine to a gender-neutral, all-encompassing lifestyle and urban culture guide; from a paper-focused media creation to an online-only version of the magazine release that picks up where it left off, POPEYE is breaking ground all the time.
How can a paper magazine like this become a twilight when it dares to break through even the bars drawn by itself in the past? Let's continue to look forward to the surprises that POPEYE will bring in the future.