Hanging with the 14-year-old Japanese Instagram star taking over fashion

A new Dazed film follows Yoshi, who has gained attention with his style from the likes of Virgil Abloh, Nicola Formichetti, and Helmut Lang

At only 14 years old, Yoshi is an Instagram phenomenon. After getting noticed by Off-White’s Virgil Abloh, he’s quickly become a style icon on the streets of Tokyo.

Scrolling through his Instagram, there’s no doubt that Yoshi boasts an innate sense of style that stands between punk and luxury streetwear. When he’s not taking lift selfies, he’s hanging out with his friends – Nicola FormichettiKim Jones, and LA-based artist gab3 among them. Now, with over 40k followers on IG, Yoshi is also a model in his own right – last year he appeared in a Helmut Lang campaign and he recently started walking on runways too.

“The very first item I bought was at the vintage shop in (Tokyo’s district) Jujo called GBM,” Yoshi tells us in a new Dazed film. “It was a pink Marilyn Manson t-shirt. I didn’t know what it was but the owner recommended it to me and I bought it.” Since then, he has grown his wardrobe significantly, regularly wearing edgy looks made up of coloured biker jackets, Vetements-inspired coats and customised denim, that he finds browsing the city’s biggest vintage stores. 

Elsewhere in the video, Yoshi shops in his fave vintage stores, draws, and plays video games just a normal kid. But, unlike a normal kid, he also shoots scenes for a music video from Japanese rapper Anarchy. “I’m working as a model and as a designer too, so I earn money by myself,” he continues. “Right now, I don’t have an agent or manager, so I always do everything by myself – I even negotiate my fee too.” Just your regular 14-year-old model slash icon.

Watch the film above. 

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