Designers >
 |
Tokyo |
|
| |
A Bathing Ape
Launched in 1993 in the Harajuku district of Tokyo by designer Nagao Tomoaki, or Nigo as he is better known, the brand has scored an international reputation for its trend-setting hip hop designs. |
|
| |
Ato Matsumoto
Founded the ato brand in 1993, produces high end collections, street clothing, sneakers and accessories. The high end collections are noted for their monochromatic use of white for spring/summer and black for autumn/winter. |
|
| |
Baby, The Stars Shine Bright
Founded in 1998 by Akinori and Fumiyo Isobe, the brand has achieved iconic status among trendy young Harajuku girls with their Lolita fashion sense. |
|
| |
Daisuke Obana
Created the N. Hoolywood label in 2002 as a compound abbreviation of "Hollywood" and "Hooligan", known for recycling retro designs and giving them a modern edgy twist. |
|
| |
Hanae Mori
Fusing the East with the West, her collections are embued with a cool dignity enhanced by a Japanese sensitivity to the seasons with a natural colour palette and motifs of flowers and butterflies. |
|
| |
Hirofumi Kiyonaga
Designer behind Japan's top streetwear brands Sophnet and F.C.Real Bristol and the contrasting business suit line, Uniform Experiment, formed in conjunction with Hiroshi Fujiwara of Fragment Design. Latest collections can be viewed at Sophnet, F.C.R.B. and Uniform Experiment. |
|
| |
Hiroko Koshino
Opened her first couture atelier in Osaka in 1964 she has since gone on to international fame for her collections that aim to harmonise the beauty of the East and West. |
|
| |
Issey Miyake
Now under chief designer Dai Fujiwara the label continues to use innovative techniques and new materials to create designs suited to everyday wear, best expressed in the Pleats Please brand. |
|
| |
Jun Ashida
Established in 1963 in Tokyo and 1983 in Paris, he has been at the forefront of Japanese haute couture for five decades with collections exuding elegance and grace. His daughter, Tae Ashida debuted as a designer for Miss Ashida in 1991 presenting a younger but still refined style. |
|
| |
Jun Takahashi
Founder of the cult brand Undercover, the hippest designer to come out of Tokyo's Harajuku, he has a punkish take on the dark side of life - sly, sexy and always subversive. |
|
| |
Junya Watanabe
Worked under his mentor Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garcons he launched his own line in 1993 with a highly acclaimed menswear collection following in 2000. His collections feature technologically advanced materials and a sculptured silhouette. Collections can be viewed at Anastasia (US) and Browns (UK). |
|
| |
Keita Maruyama
Debuted in 1994, the collections are inspired by Oriental motifs and Japanese kimono designs, and use vivid complex colours. |
|
| |
Kenzo
Launched in 1970, the brand took a fresh approach to couture with pretty poetic colours. Now part of the LVMH group, Kenzo Takeda left in 1999 and women's fashion is now in the hands of Italian Antonio Marras. |
|
| |
Mintdesigns
Label created by Hokuto Katsui and Nao Yagi featuring prints in a palette of mint and other fresh colours and multi-patterned fabrics including their signature motif of a baby with a large pair of tailor's scissors. |
|
| |
Nuno
Influential fabric design house since 1984, uses traditional Japanese weaving and dyeing techniques combined with innovative technology to produce a range including embroidered, metallic, eco-friendly and glow-in-the-dark fabrics. |
|
| |
Rei Kawakubo
Founded the Comme des Garcons label in 1973, hugely influential for her austere, deconstructed silhouettes, the brand now has several lines including menswear and womenswear. Collections can be viewed at Anastasia (US) and Dover Street Market (UK). |
|
| |
Ritsuko Shirahama
Debuted at the Tokyo Collection in 1988 and has sold internationally since 1996, her collections play with sexy candy colours, diaphanous tops, teenybopper skirts, voluminous dresses and rainbow coats. |
|
| |
Taishi Nobukuni
Debuted in 2005 at the Tokyo Collection, his Botanika brand features eco-friendly, organic t-shirts, shirts, knitwear, trousers, jackets and coats. |
|
| |
Takeo Kikuchi
Started by combining the style of traditional European menswear with a Japanese fit, the brand has branched out to include Japanese contemporary streetwear. |
|
| |
Tomoaki Okaniwa
Fashion designer behind The Viridi-anne menswear label based on detailed tailoring, fine materials, trend-setting design and the simplicity of the colour black. |
|
| |
Tsumori Chisato
Former protegé of Issey Miyake, she started her own brand in 1983, under the umbrella of Miyake's A-net, which has become one of Japan's foremost womenswear labels for sexy, cute fashion with a humorous twist. Latest collections can be viewed at A-net.com. |
|
| |
Yasuhiro Mihara
Opened the first Sosu Miharayasuhiro shop in Tokyo in 1998, well known for innovative footwear, he has a contract with Puma and has shown in Milan since 2006 and Paris since 2007, his collections extend to trendy streetwear. |
|
| |
Yasuko Furuta
Founded the brand Toga in 1997 debuting at the Tokyo Fashion Week in 2001. The womenswear brand has a loosely draped, urban, avant-garde look. |
|
| |
Yohji Yamamoto
Broke the fashion mode in the 1980's by introducing loose draped monotone silhouettes, particularly in black, that sought to express the body's movement through changing contours and textures. |
|
