How has Japanese fashion evolved in the 20+ years since the ‘fashion revolution’ of the 1980s?
Who are the new Japanese designers?
What is the role of Japanese youth fashion?
Where does Tokyo fit in the hierarchy of fashion’s world cities? Is Japan still the future? Japan continues to be on the cutting edge, maybe even the bleeding edge, of fashion. However, Japanese fashion today embraces not only the cerebral, avant-garde looks associated with the first wave of Japanese design, but also a range of youth-oriented styles.

Indeed, contemporary Japanese fashion remains significant globally precisely because it mixes elements of the avant-garde (pushing the aesthetic envelope at the level of "high" art) with aspects of sub-cultural and street style. Equally significant is the Japanese obsession (not too strong a word) with perfecting classic utilitarian garments, such as jeans, sneakers, and leather jackets.