ultraman

In Japan, black suits are as ubiquitous with salarymen as uniforms are with high school students. Usually, though, the look is pretty unremarkable: black suit, white shirt, subdued tie, black shoes, black belts…and the same thing every day. Suit and menswear chain Aoyama, however, is looking to not only spice up the old suit look, but also help salarymen channel their inner space alien superhero (or villain).

For their 50th anniversary, Aoyama has collaborated with the Ultraman franchise to create a line of Ultraman neckties. In an announcement from Tsuburaya Productions, the company that produced the original Ultraman TV series in 1966, it was revealed that there will be eighteen unique Ultraman inspired designs available for a limited time.

The 18 different designs to choose from offer a huge range of possibilities. If you like standing out (and, of course, your company permits it) you can get a really noticeable tie, like the one with Ultraman’s Color Timer, his energy gauge, right in the middle of the tie making you look just like Ultraman himself. Who wouldn’t want to go to work like that? And just think: the blue light, depicting full-energy, will be a mental booster for you and show your co-workers you are not one to tire easily.

Screen Shot 2014-11-03 at 0.08.12Images: Aoyama Blog (left), Bandai (right)

If your company has a little bit stricter dress code, you could sneak the galactic hero in on a navy tie with white polka dots, except some polka dots are actually little Ultraman masks! Tee-hee! I wonder how long it would take for your boss to notice! (Hopefully more than three-minutes.)

Ultraman3Image: Aoyama Blog

If you can’t even pull camouflaged Ultra-cool off at work, then go for the style that looks like a normal, bland tie on top, but hidden at the bottom, under your fastened jacket, awaits an Ultraman character, like Alien Baltan (below), ready to bust out when you take your jacket off and relax at the Ultraman pub.

Screen Shot 2014-11-03 at 0.15.00

Images: Aoyama Blog (left), Bandai (right)

Twitter has been blowing up since the release of this unusual office wear:

“The ties are ridiculously cool!”

“Wow! The Dada [an Ultra monster seen below] pattern is a work of art! Awesome!”

“I really want the Alien Baltan tie. But I’d probably be kicked out of my office within three minutes if I wore it there!”

“I went to Aoyama as soon as I could to look at the ties. They are so awesome in the flesh!”

▼Gugi Akiyama, the head designer for the project, tweeted that his favorite has to be the black-and-white striped tie, fashioned after this monster!

ultraman5-rakuten Image: Rakuten

Remember ties aren’t just dress code; they can be confidence boosters (Color Timer!), mood lifters, and even talking points. Wouldn’t you ask about one of these trendy, yet playful ties? They are fashion statements and business partners, as wearing one will most likely get you a promotion (or fired). Whether you’re buying one for yourself or giving one as a present, you better get to your nearest Aoyama store or hit the website soon because the ties are only offered in limited quantities!

Top Image: Twitter (@gugitter)
[ Read in Japanese ]