Nana has got to be Ai Yazawa’s most popular manga and for good reason. The plot is gripping, the characters feel so real, and the fashion is on a level not usually seen in manga or anime.

Ai Yazawa spent some time studying fashion and clearly draws a lot of inspiration from the various youth fashion movements to have graced the streets of Tokyo. Throughout her work, there is always a lot of attention paid to the clothing the characters wear which has allowed fans the world over to draw inspiration from them and the Nana anime is no exception.

Whether you’re new to Nana or are a longtime fan, let’s take a look at some of the most iconic fashion from the series and how to replicate these styles in real life.

(Cover image sourced from the Nana 2005 live action film)

Nana Osaki’s Tabletop Performance Look

This impromptu concert that Nana decided to put on showcases her signature look. While she does wear a variety of different amazing outfits throughout the anime, a testament to Ai Yazawa’s detail oriented eye, this miniskirt/corset combo is one of her most easily recognizable. Nana’s style overall is modeled after punk fashion which has been popular on the streets of Japan since about the 1970s. The spirit of punk is about rebellion making it a perfect fit for a strong willed and independent character like herself.  

Some of the elements you see repeated a lot in punk fashion and in the fashion of Nana are chokers, leather jackets, ripped/torn clothing, plaid skirts, and fishnet tights. Nana Osaki is usually wearing a combination of these paired with dramatic platforms or black boots. She typically wears mini skirts/mini dresses like the one shown above and is often seen in black, purple, red, or animal print. Her style is the most edgy and flirtatious among the main female characters of Nana. Never one to miss an opportunity to accessorize, she’s typically wearing silver jewelry with her most famous jewelry item being her armor ring. If you’re looking to inject a little bit of Nana’s style into your wardrobe then a good place to start is our women’s grunge collection since there tends to be a little overlap between grunge and punk.

Ren’s Sid Vicious Inspired Fashion

Ren always looks cool but while it may seem like he was modeled directly after Sid Vicious this isn’t quite the case. Ai Yazawa has said that when she designed Ren’s character she was inspired by Japanese fans of punk fashion who wanted to emulate Sid Vicious’ style rather than by Sid himself. This helped connect the character to the story’s context since it was taking place in Tokyo not 1970s London, but this doesn’t mean there are no parallels between Ren and Sid. For starters, Ren’s most important accessory is the lock necklace that Nana gave him which is identical to the one Sid made famous. 

Like Nana, he also wears a lot of staples of punk fashion including chokers and leather jackets but opts for less color and fewer prints.  His style is more masculine and he typically wears jeans and a t-shirt that he accessorizes to fit his image. Both he and Nana tend to wear silver jewelry and accessories including necklaces, bracelets, and earrings. As you may have guessed a good place to start if you’re looking for fashion inspired by Ren is our men’s grunge collection!

Nana Komatsu’s Feminine Concert Look

Mai and Hachi (Nana Komatsu) may have been the only two BLAST fans not dressed in punk fashion at this concert but with the looks they delivered who could complain? Nothing displays the contrast between Nana and Hachi quite like their fashion does. The two serve as each other’s narrative foils in the story which is reflected by their seemingly polar opposite aesthetics. While Nana came from a rough background and uses clothing almost as a form of rebellion Hachi came from a happy home and has a much more casual relationship with fashion. She experiments a lot more with style and dabbles in trends all throughout the series.

Hachi typically dresses in styles that are more feminine and girly than some of the other characters often opting for A-line dresses, cardigans, and blouses. Spiked chokers may be a bit too intense for her but she isn’t afraid to accessorize. Usually she wears simple jewelry but she’s been known to rock a statement necklace or two like in the image above. The dress she wears here is simple and she accessorizes it with a matching jewelry set, purse, and sock/heel combo. For fans of Hachi there’s plenty of feminine fashion in our dress section but you can also emulate her style using some of our feminine tops, skirts, or pants since she’s a character that always experiments and evolves.

Shin’s Late Night Rendezvous Suit

Yasu may have the best punk businessman looks of the series but this look from Shin is proof that there's more than one way to look cool in a suit or blazer. Shin has a lot more style than your average 15 year old and typically dresses in punk fashion similar to what his other bandmates wear. His looks are still distinct though and often more involved than what Ren wears for example. It’s not unusual to see him in a fun hat or sporting more flashy accessories like his iconic orb lighter/necklace.

Some of his most noticeable style elements are his many piercings, his bondage pants, and his distressed (torn) clothes. He can also often be seen wearing typically more conservative fashion items like button down shirts and ties mixed with his punk aesthetic. Unlike Yasu and Takumi, we don’t usually see him in a suit but this look paired with his usual accessories and his platform shoes is clearly a showstopper. To find your own suit jacket or blazer and live out your rockstar fantasy check out our outerwear or peruse some of our matching sets!

Reira’s Princess-like Performance Wear

Reira’s style expresses a feminine beauty unique from the kind expressed by Nana O. and Hachi. Her character is typically described as a princess and it seems that this is what Takumi thought of her from a young age. She can be seen in anything from casual to more elegant style dresses but this is one of her more memorable looks. It’s dramatic, owing to the fact that it was an outfit for a stage performance, but still simple and elegant. She pairs the gown with feathered accessories, matching gloves, and a belt. You may not have any stage performances coming up but feel free to check out our dresses to capture some of her star power for yourself. 

There’s so much fashion to draw inspiration from within this series but these are some of our favorite moments. Hopefully this has helped you figure out how to dress like your favorite character from Nana and channel a little of the magic that has made the series so popular!

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