And you can browse all of their outfits in detail on the Instagram page of the company that made them. 

AKB48 has been one of the most popular artists in Japan for years, selling so many CDs that they even cracked the list of the top three best-sellers of all time. This enormous group of cute girls in cute outfits have amassed legions of devoted fans, and not always because of their music, as some fans’ devotion is due to the group’s elaborate stage shows and music videos featuring dozens of cute girls in cute outfits.

AKB48’s clothing has been getting extra attention these days as Instagram has been abuzz about the cabin attendant-inspired outfits the girls wore at 2018’s Kohaku Uta Gassen, the most popular end-of-year TV show in Japan.

▼ Their performance of “Koi Suru Fortune Cookie”

At this year’s Kohaku Uta Gassen, AKB48 did a collaborative performance with some members of their Bangkok sister group, BNK48, and they were divided into 16 pairs of one AKB48 member and one BNK48 member each. Each pair wore a unique set of matching black or white uniforms in a classical style, with pencil skirts and lace gloves, giving off a very elegant feel that Instagram users just loved.

The clothes were designed by Japanese fashion company OSARECOMPANY, which, according to their homepage, was founded by AKB48 creator Yasushi Akimoto himself, for the sole purpose of producing and managing the styling, hair, and makeup of the group.

OSARECOMPANY also has Instagram and Twitter accounts, in which they frequently post pictures of the group’s outfits, but the best part is that they tend to hone in on the fine details that you can’t always see on TV. They uploaded a few shots of AKB48 and BNK48’s stewardess uniforms from Kohaku Uta Gassen, and the photos really show that a lot of care and attention goes into the costumes, even when they might look like ordinary schoolgirl uniforms from afar.

Just by browsing their Instagram gallery, you can see the styling of the individual patches that each member wore as well as the minute decorations on the hems of the blazers and the cuffs of the sleeves.

You can even see the fine texture of the clothing’s material from the photos!

The page has tons of AKB48 outfits that are not just from Kohaku Uta Gassen, but from other events like the group’s appearance at the 60th Japan Record Awards and even their special Christmas outfits.

The outfits have become all the rage with Japanese idol and fashion fans, drawing comments like:

“AKB’s outfits are like works of art!”
“No matter what outfits I see, AKB always seems to be the best at fashion.”
“Is there an AKB Fashion exhibition somewhere? Even if it’s expensive I’d like to go!”
“I always had this strong image of AKB in school girl uniforms, but that’s completely different from this design and I can’t take my eyes off of it!”
“OSARECOMPANY ‘s clothes are coming from a place of love. I’m so happy the girls get to dance in them!”

Even if you aren’t a fan of the group, if you are a fan of clothing design or even pretty things, you’ll probably enjoy browsing through OSARECOMPANY ‘s Instagram page. And if fashion design is your thing, you’ll also want to check out all the awesome kimono outfits that young adults wore to this year’s Coming of Age Ceremony, because they’re pretty cool, too.

Sources: OSARECOMPANY, Instagram/@osarecompany
Featured Image: Twitter/@osarecompany