isseymiyake

The Point on Style & Japanese aesthetic

Making the point on style, examining the international fashion panorama, helps answer the recurring question we hear: why Japanese fashion?

Why is Japanese fashion design relevant?

What is our prerequisite

On an international basis, we look for brands who have something to say, present good design and a consistent expression of their vision. Also, we keep in mind the shift brought in by the pandemic: going to the essence. So we put together a capsule selection of meaningful pieces.
“Less but better” means that there’s a reason for every garment we choose.

A glimpse on international fashion panorama

We are quite perplexed about the designers’ proposals we have seen lately. We noticed that many brands have lowered the bar offering poor quality and meaningless design, also labelled “sustainable,” which makes us laugh. Although some brands show beautiful dreamy lines, these have no context in our lifestyle, at least for now. So, we’ll keep an eye on them for the future.

The Italian situation, specifically, requires a deep analysis.
In short, after the demolition of Italian craftsmanship and after production was dislocated to other countries, Italian fashion is not at its best. Many brands have no soul or remain stagnant, offering no evolution. Those who thrive mainly sell the vision of a sexy woman that sounds so status quo. We would like to see something more than the sexy doll.

What leaves us perplexed is the direction that many international brands, considered the cool ones, are pursuing. If they aim to design a modern style, they repurpose a Japanese aesthetic. And so, the Instagram images are beautiful, but when you analyze the clothing design, the patterns, you can see where the idea comes from. In the end, there’s a common thread connecting brands from Italy, the U.K., North Europe or US. Despite their significant followings, they all reveal the same specific characteristics that strongly resonate with Japanese fashion design.

By the way, what we find somehow interesting is that those brands sell even to Japanese stores. The Japanese buy their own aesthetic made by someone else. If a Japanese buyer would illuminate us on this, we would be grateful.

In conclusion: Why Japanese Fashion?

Nippon offered a wealth of unconventional and advanced fashion design. What we notice as a commonality between Italian and Japanese cultures is the obsessive attention to detail and style. While drawing inspiration from Italian, European or international brands in general is acceptable, we do not expect exactly the same Japanese designs.

So, why Japanese fashion? Rather than choosing International brands featuring a Japanese aesthetic, we take the original ones!