The Worldliness of Japanese Fashion Designs.

(From Journal of Japanese Trade & Industry (JJTI))

Byline: Fukai Akiko

People around the world are enjoying sushi and reading Japanese manga (comic books). Christian Dior is producing kimono-like dresses, Gucci is decorating show windows with ukiyo-e (Japanese wood block prints), and Louis Vuitton is using wind-blown cherry blossom patterns. An interest in things Japanese, which saw a resurgence in the late 20th century, first took a prominent place on the world stage during the "Japonisme" of the late 19th century, which had an extensive and penetrating impact on Europe and the United States in fields ranging from art to lifestyles to fashion. Today, things Japanese have become synonymous with creativity on the world fashion scene, and this can be attributed to the prominent position held by Japanese fashion designs.

1980s: Focus on Japanese Power Takada Kenzo was a popular designer in Paris in the 1970s when haute couture began to give way to pret-a-porter. His "KENZO" brand is now recognized worldwide as part of the LVMH group. In 1974, Miyake Issey developed "clothing made from a single piece of material" designed according to the same concept as the Japanese kimono, in other words, clothing with a flat structure.

However, Japanese fashion design began to convey greater strength in the early 1980s when Kawakubo Rei (with the COMME des GARCONS brand) and Yamamoto Yohji appeared on the scene in Paris. Their baggy and asymmetrical clothing, which seemed from a Western perspective to lack shape, was described as looking "like the remnants of clothing after a bomb had exploded," and its impact shook the Parisian fashion world. Their avant-garde designs, which stood in stark contrast to the beautiful silhouettes and colors of Western clothing, were said to have a "tattered look" or, because of their frequent use of monotonous colors like grays and blacks, a "crow-like" character.

These austere designs, which eliminated adornments and beautiful colors in favor of monotonous tones, were said to embody a Japanese aesthetic sense of "wabi-sabi" (simplicity and plainness). These paved the way for the rise of "minimalism" in the 1980s. In this decade, Japan was at the height of its spectacular economic development. Finding themselves in the spotlight, the Japanese produced striking achievements in design fields like architecture and graphic design. Japanese fashion in particular had a strong impact during this time.

Japanese designers are known worldwide for their highly creative fashions. Kawakubo remains committed to creating "new clothing that has never been seen before," and continues to inspire new generations of designers around the world. Yamamoto is involved ...