At Tokyo’s prestigious Bunka Fashion College, students concentrate in a silence broken only by the sound of scissors and sewing machines. Their goal: to emulate the worldwide success of graduates like Kenzo or Miyake.
The loss of two greats of Japanese fashion, Kenzo Takada and Issey Miyakein recent years heralds the end of a fashion era, decades after Japanese design conquered and revolutionized the Parisian catwalks in the 1970s and 80s.
The French capital remains a destination for emerging talent like Bunka graduate Takuya Morikawa, whose streetwear-inspired collection debuted at Paris Fashion Week two years ago.
Morikawa, 40, hopes his shows at the industry’s top event will lead to “an amazing future beyond my wildest dreams”.
Before founding his label Taakk in 2013, Morikawa spent eight years in Miyake’s studio, working on runway collections and the famous Pleats Please line, but also harvesting rice and making paper to learn about traditional craft methods.
He told AFP he was saddened by Miyake’s death this summer, but urged younger designers not to be discouraged.
“We must do our best to ensure that the deaths of these designers do not impact the fashion world. If that happens, it means we’re doing our job poorly,” he said. One of the big names taking the baton is Nigo, who rose to fame with his streetwear brand A Bathing Ape in the 1990s.
The designer, who also studied at Bunka Fashion College and whose real name is Tomoaki Nagao, was appointed artistic director of Kenzo last year after founder Kenzo Takada died of Covid-19 in 2020.
Another Japanese label that has enjoyed international success is Sacai, founded in 1999 by Chitose Abe, who worked as a guest designer for Jean Paul Gaultier.
“Goose flesh”
Japanese creators Kenzo and the Miyake became very influential after plying their trade in Paris, as did the haute couture pioneer who passed away in August Hanae Mori.
Yohji Yamamoto, now 79, and 80-year-old Rei Kawakubo, founder of Comme des Garcons, who shook up the fashion establishment in the early 1980s, continue to enjoy international success.
New challenges, including the huge selection of looks for every taste, have made it harder for emerging designers to attract global attention, says Bunka President Sachiko Aihara.
“The world was shocked” by the avant-garde Japanese design, she says, recalling how her students began to dress in black after Yamamoto released his first monochromatic clothing line.
“But we no longer live in an era where designers introduce a collection and everyone wears it,” she said at the school, whose archive is packed with valuable garments for students and teachers to study.
That’s because of the explosion of different types of clothing, “not a decline in talent,” Aihara stressed, adding that today it’s also important to study economics if you want to create a competitive brand.
Designer Mariko Nakayama, who spent decades working as a stylist on the Tokyo fashion scene, also recalls the “goosebumps” she had when she first wore Comme des Garcons.
However, she agrees that the industry is different today. “When I look at Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton, for example, I feel like we’re entering an editing era,” in which designers modernized classic shapes and patterns, she said at her boutique in Tokyo’s upscale Omotesando district.
“Creating new values”
Working in Paris, London, New York or Milan is still considered the key to success for Japanese creatives, says Aya Takeshima, 35, who studied at Central Saint Martins in the British capital.
Takeshima’s recent show at Tokyo Fashion Week for her brand Ayame featured women in sheer blouses and embossed dresses, while the male models wore delicate gowns.
She told AFP she chose to study abroad to “learn what it takes to be an independent designer,” adding that the experience helped her understand different perspectives.
“Honestly, I think it would be difficult” to be successful internationally if you only work in Japan, she said. “In Japan, there was a feeling that technique was drummed into you first, while ideas and concepts were…more secondary.”
Bunka University has recognized these advantages and plans to offer a scholarship for studying abroad as part of its 100th anniversary celebrations next year.
For 21-year-old Natalia Sato, who studies there, Miyake and the old guard of Japanese designers brought “a lot of Japanese and Eastern values” to the world, including techniques inspired by traditional Japanese craftsmanship.
“I’m concerned that the foundation they’ve built will be destroyed by their passing,” but “at the same time, this is a tipping point” that could offer new creative possibilities, she says.
“It’s a chance for me to think about how we can create new value.”(AFP)
This article was similarly published on FashionUnited.uk. Translation and editing: Barbara Russ