Sugar, spice, and everything nice: These are the perfect ingredients for the perfect fashion sense. We would like to call it “JoJo Core.” When it comes to the edginess, sleek character design, and sex appeal, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure definitely captivates us in a world’s custom garment that lets you know it has “Main Character” syndrome.
The sleek, sexy, and sassy body structures allowed the series’ characters to display an otherworldly fashion sense that surpassed their manga counterparts. The chest out, chiseled body types, small waist, big chest, and godly faces command magnetism of the eyes. The rawness of the bare skin, with emphasis on certain body parts, gives S&M (fetish wear). Throughout the otaku fandom, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has gained exclusive fame as having some of the top fashion-forward characters. Hirohiko Araki has a noteworthy process on the amalgamation of his pursuits in the art world and the art he produces.
Manga creator Hirohiko Araki’s bolded, eccentric medium transcends the capitative nature of multiverses. Pop culture has always ventured into cahoots with Araki. They simultaneously align in time and circumstance, allowing the masses to be engulfed in a different ether – a phenomenon, a solidified pedestal that garnishes recognition as elevated art.
All in all, the great feats that JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure has triumphed within the heated and low attention span of fans has caught the attention of fashion powerhouses and social media virality and pays homage not only through the names of said characters but also reflection through the fashion sense. Let’s take a deep dive into the magical, innovative, fashionable world of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure Meets Pop Culture
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure’s fame within current pop culture trends comes from the renowned “JoJo Pose.” Across TikTok and in the fandom, a running joke encompasses the body bending, shape capturing, and high fashion poses demonstrated in our series. The poses are then montaged, with exaggerated movement to strike a pose.
Two things emerged from this trend, the first being the adaptation of canon poses from Jojo’s Bizare Adventure: Eyes of Heaven. The other was the hit song “Jojo Pose” by Apollo Fresh. With each strike of the artist spitting a “pose” (in reference to Vogue, in my opinion). Apollo Fresh stated he saw the need and opportunity for a direct “sound” for the JoJo pose trend (The Den, YouTube). A few influencers fell in love with the production, and the rest was viral history.
Inspiration for the Pose
Hirohiko Araki’s renowned artistic style can be attributed to his love of many mediums within the creative spectrum, from the fine arts of painting and sculpture to the innovative free fall of the fashion world. Fashion and pop culture continuously aid in cultivating Araki’s creative machine.
“Designers today? Each and every one of them are truly impressive,” exclaims Araki (VizMedia, YouTube). He can use the ingenious creations of said designer, absorb inspiration from them, and transmute that energy into his own works of art.
So, where was the “pose” inspiration drawn from? Two places: Greco-Roman art and fashion editorials. Remember how other artistic mediums aided in Araki’s masterpieces? Rome spearheads as a trailblazer for capturing the beauty and accentuation of the human body. The way sculptures perpetuated the muscular attributes of gods and the body contorted to bendy profiles. When we see these illustrations, we can see the detailed, curvy nature of the figures. Romans were gladiators; they had fan girls who wanted to see the muscle groups of their favorite warriors; thus, the bodybuilding poses came into play.
Now, Araki is an avid observer of fashion shows and fashion portraiture. He uses the study of esoteric positions that editorial fashion catalogs exhibit. The best way to optimize appearance, add dimension, and shift focus on body positioning is to create shapes with the human body or use props to enhance placement. Editorial campaigns from Vogue, Versace, and other high fashion houses have been catalysts as mimics of the iconic poses.
Araki was fascinated with Puerto Rican fashion illustrator Antonio Lopez (whose work appeared in publications such as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, and Elle) as a direct source of inspiration for his countless characters’ fashion and design (IMDB). Lopez used imagery that consisted of exaggerated body poses with strongly built subjects. The vibrancy of the deafening clothing coined a thought-provoking motivation for Araki’s early works, and he believed in elevating his craft even if it drastically polarized the predecessor’s.
Antonio Lopez x Missoni 1984 |[AP1]
Tony Viramontes was another prominent indirect mentor to Araki (IMDB): his trailblazing shading, outlining of bodies, and energetic illustrations posing in eccentric ways allowed innovations within the worldview of fashion illustration. Viramontes worked primarily as a photographer before moving into illustrations. Due to this, he could use his developed wisdom of human motion to his advantage. His illustrations and creative direction led him to cover artwork for the band Arcadia and photoshoots for Janet Jackson and Donna Summer. Viramontes’ creative expansion dominated the scene within the art world, and so did Araki’s with his own spin on pop culture (Lac the Watcher, YouTube).
JoJo Collabs
The immensely referenced attributes of the greats admired by Araki have gone everywhere but unnoticed. Through the ensembles created through the manga and art books, fashion elites have wanted to take a cut of cloth of the world of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The collabs have avalanched into existence from publications and streetwear to high fashion. Through our journey of the Joestar lineage, we are introduced to characters from Italian, English and Japanese nationalities. From a fashion standpoint, these countries have raved and demanded recognition of the foundations of style and luxury (AnyButton2Start, YouTube).
With the influences from these countries displayed within the manga, the prowess of Hirohiko Araki has commanded the interest of highly notarized brands. Let’s turn the pages of publications and installations, shall we:
Released in October 2018, the JoJo x Balenciaga collab featured Bruno Bucciarati (Golden Wind) dressed in the FW18 runway collection plastered on the cover of Shueisha’s Uomo magazine. Uomo (ウオモ, Wuomo) is a monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine. It is “notable for its multiple collaborations with Hirohiko Araki and the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure franchise” (JoJo’s Bizarre Encyclopedia). This suggests that the JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure ensemble are the super-powered supermodels of the anime world.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’s Bruno Bucciarati in Balenciaga | UOMO October 2018[AP2]
Shueisha’s other publication, Spur, a women’s fashion magazine, has featured Araki numerous times: Two interviews in print (January 2012 and October 2018) and three features, two with emphasis on Jolyene and other women characters (JoJo’s Bizarre Encyclopedia).
The Gucci x Hirohiko Araki x Spur collab, known as “Rohan Kishibe Goes to Shinjuku Exhibition,” was a one-of-a-kind collaboration held in the Shinjuku Takano Building in the Fall of 2011. The three notables also collaborated on a feature spread entitled “Jolyne, Fly High.” The spread included a short, one-shot story unrelated to the manga’s canon.
Jolyne on the cover of Spur[AP3] |
Spur x Gucci-Rohan |
Other collaborations between JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure and the fashion world include:
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure x Vans collaboration included the Vans Era Pro and Slip-On models inspired by Bruno Bucciarati and Giorno Giovana (Hypebeast). The collection was announced in March 2019. Each pair came with a heavily decorated limited edition box with ladybug and zipper decals.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure x Vans Collab |
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean x Converse collaboration was released for Japanese customers in January 2022. The custom shoe was an ode to Jolyne, referencing her spider-like threads, sword butterfly symbol, and notorious birthmark.
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: Stone Ocean x Converse |
Lumine, a fashion department store brand in Shinjuku, took advantage of the opportunity to market Giorno’s “Golden Wind” saga. Between September through October 2018, Lumine stores used posters, decorations, custom food, and other merchandise to highlight the arc.
Jam Home Made makes the ultimate accessories to elevate your wardrobe from wearing to styling. Bandai announced preorders for the JoJo collab in October 2019 for this elite jewelry line. It included many variations of rings, bracelets, necklaces, earrings, and pendants.
Necklace from the JoJo x Jam Home Made Collection |
Jojo x Seiko released a luxury watch collaboration with two phases, starting in April 2013. The first phase featured “Golden Wind” characters: Girono, Bucciarati, Trish, Narachai, Fugo, Mista, and Abbacchio. The watches represented the Stands and their corresponding user. The second phase of watches came out in November 2019 and included Diavalo.
JoJo x Glamb is a continuous collaboration that emphasizes luxury streetwear. The brand was established in 2003, and the collection includes phases through all parts of JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure. The collection includes graphic tees, button-ups, outerwear such as jackets and coats, accessories and unique shoe designs that will dazzle you up.
Button-down from the JoJo x Glamb collection |
Bizarre References
Who are the trailblazers and influencers when it comes to fashion? Celebrities and fashion designers! Araki has made a point to reference musicians, celebrities, and fashion designers with his characters. Because of this, some of his characters mimic the style or attributes of whom they are inspired.
“Stone Ocean,” in particular, changed the narrative of references towards musicians to fashion designers. Was it really a high-security jailhouse or a high-fashion house? The character Ermes was named after the French fashion brand Hermes; Emporio was named after Emporio Armani (Giorgio Armani). The character F.F., named after Foo Fighters, was also cleverly encoded with the emblem for Fendi, whose monogram embellishes the double F (Anime Ribbon, YouTube).
In “Diamond Is Unbreakable,” the main protagonist, Josuke, is a typical teenager dressed in a school uniform. However, to the untrained eye, you would miss the reference to American singer Prince (VizMedia, YouTube). The elaborate hair, the gender and love symbol pendant attached to the uniform, and the famous purple Prince loved, Josuke, is a walking caricature of the late musician. Josuke’s biography also states Prince is his favorite musician – talk about stan culture!
Josuke from JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure |
The main antagonist of “Diamond is Unbreakable,” Yoshikage Kira, in contrast, was modeled after David Bowie. The hairstyle, the professional drip, the accessories, and the inviting facial structure were in immaculate taste and notably referenced the late singer.
Other Character Design References
From the start of the series, Araki explores historical and cultural elements to detail his characters’ designs and enhance their style, from the colonial affluent attire in “Phantom Blood” to the war machine resemblance with Joseph in “Battle Tendency.”
Araki kept the high school students in signature school uniforms akin to their afflictions for characters Jotaro and Kakyoin in “Stardust Crusaders,” and Josuke and the gang in “Diamond is Unbreakable.” The characters within the later parts (three and beyond) explore cultural ties with characters such as Avdol and his Egyptian roots. The enemy Stands from various countries feature traditional and streetwear versions of clothing prevalent in their region. Rohan Kishebe (“Diamond is Unbreakable”) is seen in multiple outfits with properties of androgyny. He showcases non-binary fashion that teleports us through time. The mafioso of “Golden Wind” appreciates skin; it loves a chest out, arms out, and a midriff-showing ensemble that allows its male protagonist a bit of appeal outside the usual dress. In contrast, “Stone Ocean” gives its ensemble cast the ability to move freely in their world of fashion.
Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure’s fashion world has allowed us to explore the different universes of art that can come from adorning the body with stylish pieces. The fame and acknowledgment from the world have solidified its characters as the powerhouse fashion superheroes of pop culture. Araki has helped us learn that our characters can be high-fashion and badass.
