#rocket dive

hide (X Japan, soloist) during the February 7th, 1998 performance of Rocket Dive on Pop Jam TV!

It took me four weeks before I got around to gushing about my honmei's always-impeccable fashion. Shame. Shame on me. In my defense, it was so hard to pick just one look! He has so many good looks to chose from (this is not the last time you will be seeing me use this series to hidepost lol). I decided to start off with this look, which might actually be, pound-for-pound, one of the most iconic vkei looks in existence. Simple, yet immediately recognizable, and replicated in enough merch to fill ten thousand landfills, I couldn't get away with not talking about it.

While it may seem simple at first, I think the visual storytelling of this outfit really flows well with the song that it's associated with. First, the obvious. While I wouldn't call it cyber or anything similar, it definitely gives off a futuristic impression with the baggy silhouette and all those zippers and pockets- perfect for a song entitled "Rocket Dive".

Speaking of the baggy silhouette, it also ties in with the second theme of Rocket Dive, that of freedom and childishness, the idea of dreaming and perpetually looking up at the sky. The silhouette of the outfit makes hide look smaller and skinnier than he actually is, and hides the shape of his body, giving off a youthful impression. The clips (which also serve to keep stray hair out of his face) add to this impression, being the sort of thing a mother might put in their child's hair, while also making his hair spike up and add to the youthful vibes.

At this point, one might be asking a question- why this version of the iconic Rocket Dive look, as opposed to the one in the music video? The reason is that I think the bright yellow is genuinely a better choice when it comes to the themes this outfit is playing with. While black is a mature, gloomy color, yellow is exuberant, optimistic, and a little bit childish- which of these colors reflect Rocket Dive's vibes better?

Overall, this look is proof that you don't have to have eight billion things going on at once to make something good, iconic, and quintessentially visual kei.

hide with Spread Beaver

翼 広げて君がFLY