Future Beauty: Japanese Fashion

Japanese fashion made an enormous impact on the world fashion scene in the late 20th century. Designers such as Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto redefined the very basis of fashion, challenged established notions of beauty, and turned fashion very firmly into art.

This book explores the unique sensibility of Japanese fashion design, and its sense of beauty embodied in clothing. This is typified by the elimination of excessive decoration, a radical unfinished or deconstructed look, and the ability to move freely between traditional and modern techniques.

For many, the legendary Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons is the greatest fashion innovator of the 20th century. Her influence on subsequent fashion and important European designers such as Martin Margiela and Helmut Lang has been remarkable. Her work is fully represented in this book alongside her contemporaries, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto. Kawakubo’s protégé, the techno-couturier Junya Watanabe is also featured, together with the acclaimed Jun Takahashi, and the new generation of radical designers: including Tao Kurihara, Fumito Ganryu and Mintdesigns, among others.