This Japanese Hair Stylist Pairs His Vintage Skirts with Telfar Hoodies and Balenciaga Platform Boots

Hair stylist Shingo Shibata has a very distinct beauty “uniform”: a shaved head and no eyebrows. In his closet, there’s no semblance of that regimented routine. How does he organize this amalgamation of tangerine puffer jackets, Yohji Yamamoto outerwear, and platform boots? “I don’t,” he says. Within his Tokyo apartment, a confluence of color beckons from a silver hanging rack. Perfectly warped denim contrasts the traditionally blanched walls and wood beams. Footwear ranging from Balenciaga kitten heels to distressed cowboy boots click with potential energy.

Heavily gelled comb overs, space age blunt bobs, perfectly coiffed French twists. His work has graced covers and spreads of a number of international Vogues, Interview, W, and the runways of major designers. Born and raised in Japan, Shibata worked in New York for several years after graduating from Vantan Design Institute, cutting his teeth and cultivating relationships with major photographers and stylists before returning to Tokyo, where he lives with his wife, makeup artist and Global Creative Director of Addiction Tokyo, Kanako Takase.

“I’m not afraid of making mistakes,” he says of his method of concocting new hairstyles and outfits. Shibata has been a collector from a young age, scouring flea markets for unique finds. “I was super skinny [as a kid],” he says. “So the clothes I picked weren’t only for men. It didn't matter. Whatever catches my eye, I put that on and mix it in. I guess that is how I developed my style.” That unbothered shopping experience manifests today in outfits composed of long vintage skirts, Telfar hoodies, and platform boots—“they make me tall and cute,” he explains.

When Shibata gets dressed, it's in a nonlinear fashion; he starts in the middle. Typically, that means with a skirt. Then, he builds outward, his choices varying based less on locale or utility than on who he has plans with that day. “If I'm seeing someone who loves fashion, I would choose something surprising as an icebreaker for our conversation because I'm super shy.”