WACKO MARIA's Merch Game Is Still Next Level
To the uninitiated, WACKO MARIA is basically just a merch brand. The Japanese label certainly isn't in the busy of reinventing the wheel, after all, so you'd be forgiven for thinking that WACKO MARIA singularly specializes in camp collar shirts printed with pop culture references.
That's basically what WACKO MARIA's best at, to be fair. Spring/Summer 2023 keeps the ball rolling with big collaborations like Ghost in the Shell, Tupac, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (again), and, as always, the estate of Jean-Michel Basquiat.
In fact, SS23 is maybe WACKO MARIA's most direct Basquiat homage to date, as it simply places the artist's face on a shirt and calls it a day (there's also a comparably clever cardigan intarsia-knit with one of Basquiat's paintings).
That's really the most notable stuff from the collection.
I do enjoy WACKO MARIA's no-frills approach to fashion but it's certainly not terribly exciting. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing, of course.
Otherwise, you've got WACKO MARIA's semi-sleazy take on track jackets, blazers, and pinstriped slacks, all very much looking like a cross between James Dean and the guys in Sonatine. Call it Yakuza casual.
Like I said, WACKO MARIA doesn't do wheel reinvention. It's all about T-shirt, jacket, trousers. Add hat, gold chain, rings, and cigarettes to taste.
There is something charming in the brand's blunt approach to fashion, I have to say. It makes the earnesty of the music, movie, and art references that much more charming, because you know they're sincere.
This isn't even Basquiat's biggest Japanese fashion crossover this season.
Junya Watanabe included the blue chip artist in his expansive Spring/Summer 2023 collection alongside, well, basically every other major pop artist.
