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L.A. meets Tokyo in a night for freaks and aliens

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L.A. meets Tokyo in a night for freaks and aliens

In late October, a beloved L.A. duo, Valerie Akiko Campbell and Justin Romero of Freak City, met with another beloved duo in Tokyo, Nene and Ryugo Ishida of the Yurufuwa Gang. Freak City is a cult fashion brand and the Yurufuwa Gang is a rap duo, but in the words of Campbell and Romero, “[we] speak the same language when it comes to fashion and art” — all four artists got their start in underground subcultures. “We share similar triumphs and struggles — from working with our partners and love being the foundation of it all.” They add, laughing: “We also both believe in aliens.”

Ishida describes coming together with Nene as nothing short of “miraculous.” The two met at a nightclub eight years ago and have since produced five albums together. “It’s everything together. Job together, life together,” says Nene, though they’ve recently started to pursue solo work again. Nene is on tour this year with a new album, “Gekiatsu,” and Ishida will go on tour next year.

Nene and Ryugo Ishida of the Yurufuwa Gang

Nene and Ryugo Ishida of the Yurufuwa Gang.

The duo cites L.A. — “the music, the vibe, the fashion” — as a major influence. “We made our second album in Los Angeles, that was our dream,” says Nene. “People in Los Angeles really embraced us and gave us confidence.”

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For the shoot, Freak City made two custom looks for Nene and Ishida that merge the worlds of L.A. and Tokyo, pulling from “kawaii, punk and rap star.” The Yurufuwa Gang were also joined by nightlife icon Sunny Bunny, DJ Bananaoka and Dasa, the owner of vintage store Bow City. Below, Nene and Ishida offer their own answers to the same questions, a glimpse into their shared and individual worlds.

Friends Dasa, Nene, Ryugo, N2, and Sunny Bunny posing in front of a chain link fence wearing Freak City clothing

From left to right: Dasa wears classic American bandana, Freak City L.A. Bling Jersey, vintage gloves, custom Freak City ‘90s Chicano print Dickies, Nike Cortez TXT sneakers. Nene wears Tomikono “Kira Kira eyes” wig, Freak City Punk Princess pinstripe set, Skoloct money bag, custom Freak City X Minnetonka toy boots. Ryugo wears Locs sunglasses; custom Freak City Kawaii Gang tattoo tank top, Punk pinstripe patchwork blazer, multi-print bricks/fence pants; Yurufuwa Ice jewelry; Maison Mihara Yasuhiro shoes. N2 wears Dog Harajuku top, Freak City L.A. booty skirt and kawaii charm jewelry, Ooops heel boots. Sunny Bunny wears traditional Japanese kimono and traditional Japanese shoes.

Nene

I always start my day with making coffee or tea.

My astrological sign, Gemini, manifests in how I focus and take action.

Moody, open, unique are three words that describe the way I dress.

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Whenever I wear Freak City, I feel like being unique is the coolest thing!

These days, the song I’m listening to on repeat is “Biking” by Daniela Andrade.

I would describe Yurufuwa Gang’s sound as its own genre of music — it’s called Yurufuwa Gang.

I love collaborating with Ryugo because he understands me completely.

My favorite thing about performing live is when the fans go completely crazy and scream.

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I would describe our fans as aliens.

Nene wears Freak City horny lace bonnet and L.A. Bitch Belt dress.

My thinking place is in the car.

On a Saturday night, you’ll find me in front of the ash tray.

The last tattoo I got was the number 369 on my neck. “369” is a magic number.

My hope for next year is more kawaii, more hentai, more crazy.

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If I could be gifted anything I wanted this holiday season, it would be onsen (the Japanese spa).

Ryugo Ishida

I always start my day with smoking.

My astrological sign, Taurus, manifests in how I am resilient.

Edgy, cool, like a character, describes the way I dress.

Freak City and the Yurufuwa Gang for Image Magazine Dec. 2024 issue.

Whenever I wear Freak City, I feel more confident!

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These days, the song I’m listening to on repeat is “Heat stick” by Shoreline Mafia, and “Drifting Away” by Chief Keef.

I would describe Yurufuwa Gang’s sound as my soul.

I love collaborating with Nene because she is very mysterious and always comes up with unexpected ideas. When we work together, a new side of me emerges.

My favorite thing about performing live is how the vibes can only be felt there.

I would describe our fans as aliens. Our fans are very passionate. They come to see us from everywhere. There are people of all ages, from kids to adults.

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My thinking place is all over the world.

N2, Sunny Bunny, Nene, and Ryugo pose on a staircase wearing Freak City clothing

From left to right: N2 wears vintage Y2K sunglasses, Freak City conspiracy theory set and kawaii charm jewelry, Atmos pink X Crocs. Sunny Bunny wears Freak City ‘Money Cash Hoes’ print dress, Energy Gang jewelry, vintage Y2K shoes. Nene wears Freak City horny lace bonnet and L.A. Bitch Belt dress, Yello shoes. Ryugo wears Locs sunglasses, Freak City ink tattoo mesh top and digital denim track pants, Royal Flash distressed camo bomber, Maison Mihara Yasuhiro shoes.

On a Saturday night, you’ll find me at a party or live performance.

The last tattoo I got was on my back. It’s a dragon.

My hope for next year is to finish my solo tour and produce a new Yurufuwa Gang album. I want to do a U.S. tour.

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If I could be gifted anything I wanted this holiday season, it would be a big amount of money!

Freak City and the Yurufuwa Gang for Image Magazine Dec. 2024 issue.

Makeup Yoko Minami
Hair Sora Hasebe

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Fashion’s Climate Reckoning Is Just Getting Started

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Fashion’s Climate Reckoning Is Just Getting Started
From dangerous heat on factory floors to flooding across sourcing hubs, climate risks are catching up with fashion’s supply chains. While new recycling initiatives attempt to scale to address the industry’s waste and emissions problem, easing regulation in Europe raises questions about the path forward heading into 2026.
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The 2025 Vibe Scooch

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The 2025 Vibe Scooch

In the 1998 World War II film “Saving Private Ryan,” Tom Hanks played Captain John H. Miller, a citizen-soldier willing to die for his country. In real life, Mr. Hanks spent years championing veterans and raising money for their families. So it was no surprise when West Point announced it would honor him with the Sylvanus Thayer Award, which goes each year to someone embodying the school’s credo, “Duty, Honor, Country.”

Months after the announcement, the award ceremony was canceled. Mr. Hanks, a Democrat who had backed Kamala Harris, has remained silent on the matter. On Truth Social, President Trump did not hold back: “We don’t need destructive, WOKE recipients getting our cherished American awards!!!”

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How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Keiko Agena

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How to have the best Sunday in L.A., according to Keiko Agena

Keiko Agena likes to create moments of coziness — not just on Sundays, but whenever she possibly can.

“Oh, there’s my rice cooker,” she says when she hears the sound in her Arts District home. “We’re making steel-cut oatmeal in the rice cooker, which by the way, is a game changer. I used to have to baby it and watch it, but now I can just put it in there and forget it.”

Sunday Funday infobox logo with colorful spot illustrations

In Sunday Funday, L.A. people give us a play-by-play of their ideal Sunday around town. Find ideas and inspiration on where to go, what to eat and how to enjoy life on the weekends.

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The 52-year-old actor, who played music-loving bestie Lane Kim in the beloved series “Gilmore Girls,” delights in specific comforts like a bowl of warm oats, talking about Enneagram numbers and watching cooking competitions with her husband, Shin Kawasaki.

“It sounds so simple, but I look forward so much to spending time on the couch,” Agena says with a laugh.

It is time that she’s intentional about protecting, especially amid her kaleidoscope of projects. Over the last couple of years, Agena starred in Lloyd Suh’s moving play “The Chinese Lady” in Atlanta, acted in Netflix’s “The Residence,” showcased her artwork in her first feature exhibit, “Hep Tones” (some of her ink and pencil drawings are still for sale), and performed regularly on the L.A. improv circuit. And her work endures with “Gilmore Girls,” which turns 25 this year. Agena narrated the audiobook for “Meet Me at Luke’s,” a guide that draws life lessons from the series, and is featured in the upcoming “Gilmore Girls” documentary “Drink Coffee, Talk Fast.”

She shares with us her perfect Sunday in L.A., which begins before sunrise.

5 a.m.: Morning solitude

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I like to be up early-early, like 5 a.m. I like that feeling of everything being quiet. I’ll go into the other room and do Duolingo on my phone. I am a little addicted to social media, so the Duolingo is not just to learn Japanese, but also to keep me from scrolling. Like, if I’m going to do something on my phone, this is better for me. I think my streak is 146. Shin is Japanese, from Toyama. So I’ve been meaning to learn Japanese for a while. For him and his mom.

Then I’ll do [the writing practice] Morning Pages. I don’t know when I learned about Julia Cameron’s book [“The Artist’s Way”] — probably around 2000. I know a lot of people do it handwritten, but I’m a little paranoid about people, like, finding it after I die. So if I have it on my computer and it’s password protected, I can be really honest.

Then a lot of times, I’ll go back to bed. Shin, as a musician, works at night, and so he wakes up a lot later. So I’ll fall back asleep and wake up with him.

9 a.m.: Gimme that bread

I don’t do coffee anymore because it’s a little too tough for my system, but I’ll walk with Shin to Eightfold Coffee in the Arts District. It’s tiny but very chill. Then we’re going to Bliss Bakery inside the Little Tokyo Market Place. We get these tapioca bread balls. If you make any kind of sandwich that you would normally make, but use that bread instead, it ups the game. It’s life-changing. The Little Tokyo Market Place is not fancy or anything, but it has everything that you would want. There’s Korean food. They have a little sushi place in there. You can get premade Korean banchan and hot food in their hot food section. They also have a really good nuts section. It’s just one big table with all these nuts, just piles and piles.

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10 a.m.: Nature without leaving the city

We’ll go to Los Angeles State Historic Park near Chinatown. I like that place just because it’s very accessible. Like, they have accessible bathrooms and I’m always checking out whether a place has good bathrooms. We call it Flat Park because it’s a great walk. Like, you’re not really out in nature, but there’s a lot of greenery. You can take your shoes off and at least touch grass for a second.

11:30 a.m.: Lunch and TV cooking shows

One of my favorite salad-sandwich combos is at Cafe Dulce in Little Tokyo. A Korean cheesesteak and a kale salad. That’s always like a — bang, bang — good combo. So we might go there or Aloha Cafe, though it’s not fully open on Sundays. But I love it because I grew up in Hawaii. They have this great Chinese chicken salad and spam musubi and other Hawaiian food that is so good.

We’ll bring home food and watch something. Cooking competition shows are my cream of the crop. My favorite right now is “Tournament of Champions” because it’s blind tasting. To me, that’s the best way to do it. “The Great British Bake Off” is Shin’s favorite. He loves the nature and the accents as much as the actual cooking. He just loves the vibe, the slow pace of the whole thing.

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I’m such a TV girl. I love spending time on the couch and eating a meal and watching something that’s appetizing with my favorite person in the world. I’m lucky because I get to do that a lot.

2 p.m.: Browse the aisles

I’ll go to this bookstore called Hennessey + Ingalls. I love art and architecture and design, but you can’t always buy these massive books. But you can go into this bookstore and look at them and it’s always chill.

If I have time, I’ll walk around art supply stores. Artist & Craftsman Supply is a good one. I’ll look at pens, pencils, stickers, tape, washi tape, different kinds of paper, charcoals. In my art, I try to find things that aren’t meant for that particular purpose, like little things in a hardware store that I’ll use it in a different way.

5 p.m.: Downtown L.A. in its glory

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We really love to walk the Sixth Street Bridge. It’s architecturally beautiful and they’re building a huge park over there, so we’ll walk around and check it out, like, ‘Which trees are they planting? Can you see?’ We sort of dream about how it’s coming together. But the other beautiful thing about that walk is that if you go at sunset and you walk back toward downtown, it’s just gorgeous. Los Angeles doesn’t have the most majestic skyline, but it’s so picturesque in that moment.

6:30 p.m.: Cornbread and Enneagrams

I’ll head to the Park’s Finest in Echo Park. It’s Filipino barbecue. It’s just so savory and rich and a special hang. Their cornbread is really good. Oh, and the coconut beef, but I’m trying to eat less beef. They have a hot link medley. Oh my gosh, just looking at this menu right now, my mouth is watering. OK, I’ll stop.

One of my favorite things to do is ask friends about their Enneagram number. So the idea of sitting with friends over a good meal and asking them a bunch of personal questions about their childhood and what motivates them and what their parents were like and what their greatest fear is and then figure out what their Enneagram number is? That is a top-tier activity for me.

9 p.m.: Rally for improv

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Because I get up so early, if 9 o’clock, I’m ready to go to sleep. But I am obsessed with improv, so on my ideal day, there’d be a show to do. There’s this place called World’s Greatest Improv School in Los Feliz. It’s tiny and they just opened a few years ago, but the vibe there is spectacular.

Then there’s another place where my heart is so invested in now called Outside In Theatre in Highland Park. Tamlyn Tomita and Daniel Blinkoff created it together and not only is the space gorgeous — I mean, they built it from scratch — they have interesting programming there all the time. They’re so supportive of communities that are not seen in mainstream art spaces. It’s my favorite place. Sometimes I’ll find myself in their lobby till 12 o’clock at night. The kind of people I like to hang around are the people that hang out in that space.

11 p.m.: Turn on the ASMR and shut down

I am firmly an ASMR girl and I have been for years. I have to find something to watch that will slow my brain down. Then it’s pretty consistent. I don’t last very long once I turn something on. My eyelids get heavy and it chills me out.

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