Japanese clothing craftsmanship is so incredibly detailed and thought out that even something as simple as the silhouette of a tank top was redesigned and modernized by the Japanese. Issey Miyake, a famous Japanese designer, invented a structured sleeveless top with a high mock neck silhouette, almost touching the chin of the model wearing the garment, made out of a silky fabric with perfectly spaced out and pressed pleats, creating a unique texture similar to a grass field with a light breeze. He used this simplicity and unique craftsmanship to design an entire line in this style, titled Pleats Please.
Issey Miyake’s Pleats Please Tank Top
The Japanese have not always been the frontrunners in the fashion industry; however, once they emerged on the Paris fashion stage, they thrived and influenced fashion on a larger scale. Experts in the field believe Europe, and more specifically Paris, is the most dominant influencing force in the fashion industry, and to claim that Japanese designers have made the biggest impact in the field is insulting to the established European fashion houses. However, it is also important to consider Japan and its people, who have been undermined in the fashion industry, and give them the credit that they deserve. So, although conventionally, people think that Europe’s luxury fashion designers like Louis Vuitton, Alexander McQueen, and Christian Dior influence modern fashion the most, this piece argues that Japan’s Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, and Yohji Yamamoto are the top fashion designers that have influenced modern fashion for the masses.
Photographed from left to right: Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto.
Art, in any form, including fashion, is based on cultural aspects of the artist's society. In the 1970s and 1980s, European fashion was slowly losing its creative muses and needed more inspiration to turn to. The Paris fashion stage has not seen anything new in a long time. Europe, although powerful in the fashion industry, lost its appeal and ingenuity and, therefore, needed to outsource creative design elsewhere. This is how Japan’s fashion culture has such a big influence in the field. Bisevac makes this realization in his paper: "[i]ronically, the moment the West began adopting Eastern clothing, even if just a condescending version of the original, these two parts of the world entered into coexistence. Now, no one can imagine Western dress without the East in the fashion world” (86). Bisevac considers Japan’s history: the country kept itself secluded, both culturally and economically, from the rest of the world until the 1900’s. Because of this, the West and Europe did not get much of their influence until later on in their development as societies. It was both in Europe and Japan’s interest to combine forces in fashion at the time to renew the scope and direction of the industry. Japan’s designers, including Yamamoto, Miyake, and Kawakubo, entered the Paris stage when it was in desperate need of change, and their work has not only influenced Paris but also the West as well as the rest of the global fashion industries.
Autumn/Winter 1992 Comme Des Garçons Runway, Paris.
Avant-garde fashion is a term that is frequently used in the description of unique and never-before-seen runway looks. However, the term stems from the style Japanese designers brought to Paris. This style is primarily defined by three adjectives: baggy, monochromatic, and asymmetrical (Kawamura, 196). In fashion especially, new and unique ideas and concepts are not always appreciated. However, the Japanese created a new type of style that was never seen before in Paris, and although not immediately accepted, avant-garde fashion is used in many runway and fast fashion looks and is now common and influential in modern fashion. Kawamura writes about the Japanese designers using emphasizing language: "[t]hey stretched the boundaries of fashion, reshaped the symmetry of clothes, introduced monochromatic clothes, and let wrapped garments respond to the body’s shape and movement. They destroyed all previous definitions of clothing and fashion” (202). Kawakubo, Yamamato, and Miyake transformed the norm of Paris and European fashion. They introduced silhouettes that the fashion industry has never seen before. Kawamura’s choice of words in this passage emphasizes the importance and influence of the three Japanese designers. Avant-garde fashion is seen in so many modern clothing pieces people wear today, including overly baggy jeans, skirt pants, and asymmetrical tops. This style that was introduced on the Paris fashion runways is still used and continues to influence modern dress and clothing companies, from designer houses to fast fashion companies.
Social media plays a major role in the influence of fashion, and many avant-garde-style clothes have gone viral on various social media websites. An extremely popular silhouette that has been trending in the past 4 years is the skirt-pant combination. This look is a perfect embodiment of the three pillars of avant-garde; it’s monochromatic, asymmetrical, and baggy. Many creators, like @havenmcnabb, have posted content on TikTok talking about or styling this combination, which went viral with over 1 million views. The Japanese getting the opportunity to showcase their ideas on the Paris stage greatly influenced fashion. However, it is important to consider and still give Europe credit for establishing that stage for others to thrive off of and continue to change the fashion field; since fashion is a creative field that society and culture both influence and are affected by.
Skirt Pant avant-garde silhouette being sold on popular online retailer ASOS.
Various members of the creative industry as a whole have even been influenced by Japanese fashion. One of the most notable creatives in the industry is Kanye West, who is not only a famous producer and rapper but is also known for his clothing and shoe brand, Yeezy. West, as a designer, heavily incorporates the avant-garde style into his looks. In his Fall 2020 Yeezy ready-to-wear collection, all 19 of the looks had at least two of the three core pillars of the avant-garde style (Leitch). West’s clothing spreads the influence and values of Yamamato, Kawakubo, and Miyake and has fostered a subculture of dedicated audiences.
In Europe, fashion has always been a tool used to demonstrate status. When the Japanese designers introduced their avant-garde looks to Paris, consumers realized that fashion could also be used as a form of personal expression. The Japanese are more influential in this industry because they use fashion as self-expression rather than a status statement, and this outlook has now been adopted by both European and American cultures as well. From the beginning of Yamamoto’s career, he has always used fashion to express character and uniqueness. Mears states in her paper that “[d]eliberately absent from [Yamamoto’s] runway presentations have been requisites of the contemporary high-fashion wardrobe: high heels, rising hemlines, plunging necklines, and sheer fabrics” (100). Rejecting the traditional outlooks of the fashion industry, Yamamoto presented bent gender norms, which were new to fashion at the time. Yamamoto’s runway looks allowed people to be more expressive with their style, not conforming to traditional norms (such as dresses and high heels for women). This influence is more prevalent than ever in modern dress. As trends cycle through, the core concept of self-expression through fashion has been carried throughout the ever-changing styles. Especially with modern socio-cultural norms, self-expression has become extremely valued in societies, specifically in Western countries, which have always held individuality as a core belief.
Yamamoto’s Spring Summer 1988 collection featuring women in masculine silhouettes.
European fashion pioneers have created a world-wide-known fashion stage in Paris and continue to deliver quality luxury goods. Japan’s introduction of Miyake, Kawakubo, and Yamamoto to Paris influenced the fashion industry and modern dress in the 1980s and continues to do so to this day. Japanese designers gave Europe a new style known as the avant-garde, a different perspective on how fashion can be used as a form of self-expression, and fresh ideas that have not yet been discovered or seen by Europe or the West. Due to the low exposure to fashion history, most audiences do not know where these styles or cultures emerge from, and there is not sufficient research conducted in the field to understand the impact of Japanese designers’ work. It is important to give Kawakubo, Miyake, and Yamamoto credit for reshaping the industry and continuing to influence it. This article highlights the unorthodox view of the fashion industry and credits the three designers who allowed the industry to keep growing. Without change in fashion, other creative fields, societies, and cultures would lose meaning and values.
Works Cited
Bisevac, Andjela. “Alexander McQueen Looking at the East – Influence of Japanese Kimono on
the West and Orientalist Elements in McQueen’s (Spring/Summer 2001) ‘Voss’
Collectio.” Revista DObra[s], No. 38, 2023, pp. 82–94.
Kawamura, Yuniya. “The Japanese Revolution in Paris Fashion.” Fashion Theory, Vol. 8,
No. 2, 2004, pp. 195–223.
Leitch, Mitch. “Yeezy Fall 2020 Ready-to-Wear” Vogue Magazine, March 2, 2020.
https://www.vogue.com/fashion-shows/fall-2020-ready-to-wear/kanye-west-adidas-originals
Mcnabb, Haven @havenmcnabb. “its not an outfit until i put a skirt over it #fashion
#styleinspo.” TikTok, January 2021, https://www.tiktok.com/@havenmcnabb/video/7191210454495120645?q=skirt%20pant&t=1702416707538
Mears, Patricia. “Exhibiting Asia: The Global Impact of Japanese Fashion in Museums and
Galleries.” Fashion Theory, Vol. 12, No. 1, 2008, pp. 95–119.
Written by: Anastasia S.