The Draw of goro's

Within the world of goro's, the most telling endorsement has never been spoken aloud. From Tokyo to London to Seoul, some of the most recognisable figures in music and film have been drawn to goro's — not because they were asked, but because the work spoke to them. goro's has never advertised, and it has never needed to. Its reputation has travelled the way the pieces themselves do: quietly, from one wearer to the next, over decades. What follows is a look at the icons who fell under its spell, and what their devotion says about goro's itself.

Eric Clapton

No name is more closely tied to goro's beyond Japan than Eric Clapton. He found his way to the workshop in the 1990s through the streetwear pioneer Hiroshi Fujiwara, and the acquaintance deepened into something rare: Goro made him a leather guitar strap by hand, a personal commission of the kind few will ever receive. Clapton has since been photographed time and again with the feather at his chest, and for a generation of Western collectors he was the first glimpse of what goro's could be.

Rock and Pop Royalty

Clapton opened a door that others soon walked through. Some of the most enduring names in rock and pop have made the feather part of their own signature:

• John Mayer — a longtime collector who has worn goro's on and off over the years.
• Ronnie Wood of The Rolling Stones — who has worn the feather for years.
• Ed Sheeran — among the contemporary voices who have carried goro's to a younger audience.

A World-Class DJ

goro's reaches beyond guitars and rock stages. Steve Aoki, one of the most recognisable names in electronic music, is a devoted admirer who found goro's through Hiroshi Fujiwara. Of Japanese descent, the American DJ and producer keeps his pieces largely off social media, but the silver feather he wears speaks to a genuine, long-held love of the work — a piece of Harajuku heritage carried quietly onto the world's biggest stages.

The Japanese Icons

Japan is where it all began. Born on a quiet Harajuku backstreet, goro's is less a label there than an inheritance, and a handful of figures carried it from a single workshop into the national imagination:

• Takuya Kimura — the SMAP star often credited with bringing goro's to the wider Japanese public; when he wore the feather, a generation followed.
• Hiroshi Fujiwara — streetwear pioneer and lifelong collector, the man who first placed goro's around Eric Clapton's neck and carried its name overseas.
• Ken Kaneko — the actor, long counted among its devoted wearers.
• Tomomi Itano — the singer, who carried the feather to a younger generation.

Icons Across Asia

The feather's pull reaches well beyond Japan. Across Asia it has become a quiet mark of a certain kind of taste, worn by some of the region's most influential performers:

• G-Dragon of BIGBANG — a defining voice in Korean style.
• JJ Lin — the Singaporean singer-songwriter, long among its admirers.

Early Admirers and Designer Friends

Long before the internet spread goro's around the world, Goro Takahashi's work already drew remarkable company. The actor Peter Fonda was an early overseas admirer, and Tina Turner is counted among the international names associated with his silver. Closer to home, Goro kept the company of designers who would go on to shape Japanese fashion, including Takeo Kikuchi and Junko Koshino. His circle was as unconventional as his craft: equally at home in a teepee on the Great Plains or a Tokyo studio.