MUSCLE GIRLS: A GATA X Strawberry Western Editorial
Strawberry Western is a New York City-based brand making sustainable activewear with alt girls in mind. This time, they’ve teamed with GATA for an editorial combining two unexpected realms: female bodybuilders and fashion.
MUSCLE GIRLS are built different; literally and metaphorically. These female bodybuilders pump iron, intimidate, captivate, and choose to look strong even though it breaks the mould of what’s conventionally desirable in women. In Japan especially, the ideal female body is thin, fragile, and pale, but in this GATA editorial, our models, Chika and Hari spend countless hours in the gym to look beautiful and feel powerful according to their own rules.
Chika and Hari make a profession out of being buff and cute. By night they work at Ikebukuro’s legendary MUSCLE GIRL’s Bar, a venue where you can get tipsy, while also viewing a variety of iron-pumping antics. After ordering a drink customers can pay extra to get slapped in the face or witness the staff’s athletic prowess as they do pull-ups, flex their biceps, and crush objects (from fruits to planks of wood) effortlessly. The girls have a waiting list to meet them, plus a dedicated following on social media from fitness fanatics and wimps alike. However, their enigmatic personas lead many to wonder what do these superhuman beauties do all day before they clock in?
Until now it remained a mystery of sorts.
This GATA editorial in partnership with alternative activewear brand Strawberry Western, imagines a day in the life of female bodybuilders before showtime. Clothed fully in Strawberry Western, we follow our ripped heroines as they strength train, get gussied up, and eventually get ready to step out for a hard day’s work of being “brolic” and kawaii for their adoring fans.
The New York-based brand was founded by Kisa Shiga and her partner Eli Libman in 2022, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic when it seemed like everyone was at an all-time time mental health low due to ahem **very real, very scary events** including extended quarantines and limited social contact. The pair found themselves living in California and spending a lot more time in nature and being active to feel better. According to Eli and Kisa, “We never really aligned with wellness cultures like yoga, or elite fitness studios and gyms and other active mono-cultures.”
Strawberry Western was Kisa’s sustainable Harajuku-inspired subcultural answer to the world of athletic wear. The brand’s DNA was informed by Kisa’s experiences growing up in the U.S. and frequently visiting her extended family in Japan’s Hyogo prefecture. In between spending time with family, Kisa would make time to gather street-style inspiration at Tokyo’s Cat Street. For the Harajuku street style reference hunters among us, in Kisa’s designs, you can spot Gyaru, decora, punk, and even some Lolita nods within Strawberry Western’s sports bras, leggings, tennis dresses, and stretchy shorts. Garments are crafted in small batches and made with recycled materials when possible.
Summed up, it's activewear for people who usually don't vibe with activewear—even expanding into new active lifestyle categories like swimwear. Strawberry Western is an avenue for people who are a part of to feel more excited about taking care of their mental and physical health by being active; and being anything but bland doing it.
TEAM CREDITS
CREATIVE DIRECTION: ORA MARGOLIS
PHOTOGRAPHY: JAMES ELLIOTT
VIDEO: SHIRIN PASQUAL
MAKEUP: YUKA HIRAC
MAKEUP ASSISTANTS: BERI + NANAMI ABE
DESIGNER: STRAWBERRY WESTERN
MODELS: CHIKA TAMIN + HARI