5 Most Influential Japanese Fashion Brand

#6 UNIQLO

UNIQLO will most probably be the only Japanese brand that the typical person / casual audience knows, therefore it had to be mentioned in this list. Now, while UNIQLO is scattered throughout the globe, it’s roots trace back to Japan, and arguably, UNIQLO is what started the insurgence of what is called nowadays as “fast-fashion” brands. But unlike most of its fast-fashion counterparts, UNIQLO focuses on the essentials, rather than what is currently trending, aptly calling it LifeWear. UNQLO also boasts other dedicated product lines such as UNIQLO Sports – which focuses on athleisure type clothing pieces, and the UT Shop – where all the creative collaborations are featured. UT has been known to collaborate with other brands and creative artists such as, UNDERCOVER, KAWS, Star Wars, and most recently Nintendo, and many more. Furthermore, the creative director of this product line is one of the most influential figures of street fashion, who is none other than Nigo, whom we’ll talk about again later.

#5 YOHJI YAMOMOTO / Y-3

Considered as one of the founding fathers of Japanese high-fashion, Yohji Yamamoto and his brand has been around for more than 40 years, first hitting the runway in 1982. Since then, his prolific tailored pieces, and monochromatic deconstructed aesthetic has been known and taken inspiration from by high-fashion enthusiasts and other designers from all around the world. His most recent collaborative brand effort with Adidas, has only made his influence in modern fashion more prevalent. Namely, Y-3 (‘Y’ for Yohji, and ‘-3’ symbolizing the Adidas 3 stripes,) pioneering the athleisure craze in modern fashion, fusing sporty aesthetics, with high-fashion, this created a new category that spoke to a much broader audience. Until today, Yohji’s influence can be seen in other brands, which often try to imitate his design philosophy, but never seem to quite replicate it.

#4 HIROSHI FUJIWARA / FRAGMENT

Not much needs to be said about Hiroshi Fujiwara’s status as “One of the Godfathers of Street Fashion.” Though it’s not his iconic designs that make him such a force in fashion, but more of his collaborations and store innovations. Hiroshi has been known to collaborate with brands such as Stussy, Carhartt , Neighborhood, Nike and even luxury brand Louis Vuitton. No other brand / designer managed to create such coveted collaborations with so many brands. In layman’s terms, if Hiroshi stamps his branding on it, it will most likely sell. Furthermore, Hiroshi molded some of the most unique fashion concept stores in the world. From his initial storefront GOODENOUGH, to the late PARKING Ginza, (all his stores featured their own respective product lines named after the store) Hiroshi immersed his cult fashion following to both Asian and western street fashion by integrating both aspects into his designs stylistically. He along with, Jun Takahashi, and Nigo form the iconic “Japanese Urahara Street Fashion Triumvirate.”

#3 JUN TAKAHASHI / UNDERCOVER

If there was to be a title for most versatile designer / brand in this list (or perhaps even the entire Japanese fashion scene,) Jun Takahashi / UNDERCOVER will easily take it. From humble beginnings as an all hand-tailored recycled vintage pieces women’s line, Jun Takahashi has undoubtedly taken initial inspiration from the likes of aforementioned Yohji Yamamoto, and Rei Kawakubo. From there, Jun evolved and expanded UNDERCOVER into different aspects of fashion with different product lines such as UNDERCOVERISM (luxury menswear), and The Shepard (streetwear line that often collaborates with other brands.) What makes UNDERCOVER unique and more creative than most other brands is that, it stays ahead of fashion trends, for example, the current trend of draping, layering, and experimenting with clothing proportions has been conceived by UNDERCOVER 20 years prior from now. And this is a trend which brands like Fear of God, and Off-White are heavily basing their garments on nowadays. Jun’s innovativeness nets him multiple collaborations as well, from aforementioned UNIQLO, to Vans, Nike, and to streetwear giant, Supreme. From the runway, to the streets, UNDERCOVER stays ahead of the game.

#2 NIGO / A BATHING APE

Very few streetwear brands can match the pedigree and the hype surrounding Nigo’s A Bathing Ape (BAPE for short.) Started in 1993 in Japan, BAPE soon took the western market by storm. The iconic Ape Head and camo iterations (Ape, Tiger, Shark) has transcended fashion, as BAPE is as much of a cultural icon, as it is a fashion icon. BAPE clothing pieces have garnered much hype after publicly being worn by a lot of celebrities, mostly associated with rap culture, people like, Biggie, Drake, and Kanye West are amongst said celebrities that helped BAPE explode in popularity, both within Japan and America. Furthermore, BAPE is being marketed as a lifestyle model now, as BAPE sells everything from, coffee mugs, to furniture. No other brand peddled the “bling” culture and lifestyle quite like BAPE did, and that’s the reason why it never dies. It ultimately carries the swagger and the ambition of an extravagant lifestyle, along with the materialistic novelty of how owning items from a certain brand makes you cooler than everyone else, the old “I’m wearing something you don’t have (BAPE) that’s why I’m cooler than you” argument. BAPE may not have revolutionized the runway, but it sure as hell made street culture a lot cooler.

#1 REI KAWAKUBO / COMME DES GARCONS

Standing on the pinnacle of the fashion world, Rei Kawakubo has built a fashion empire that governs both the runway and the streets. Comme des Garcons pioneered the use of distressing and deconstruction of garments for the runway. This approach garnered Rei Kawakubo a lot of attention internationally, as these types of silhouettes were very niche in the fashion world before it became popular (1969). It is within the ethos of the brand that, it challenges the boundaries of the fashion runway. It can also be interpreted that Comme des Garcons is “anti-fashion” with the way it presents itself compared to other contemporaries. The best adjectives for Kawakubo’s design philosophy are “gothic” and “dystopian.”

(CDG SHIRT X SUPREME FW 2015 COLLECTION)

This is evident as compared to her contemporaries, as Rei Kawakubo did not a graduate from school Fashion Design, but actually Fine Arts & Literature, giving her designs a distinct and abstract counter-culture feel.

By 2004, the brand introduced other product lines that are catered to those who are less inclined with Kawakubo’s runway designs. CDG Play, CDG Shirt, and CDG Black are the sub-brands that invaded the street fashion scene. The sub-brands exploded as Comme des Garcons already had an established runway reputation before they came out, and these were largely more accessible and acceptable to wear on a daily basis. This also spanned a large number of collaborations that were all highly coveted.

Like the CDG Play x Converse, and the CDG Shirt x Supreme collaborations, and many more. Through the immense popularity, the heart with eyes logo easily became a streetwear icon (on par with the likes of the popular Ape Head.)

(CDG PLAY X CONVERSE)

This puts Kawakubo on the peak of fashion. She inspired an entire generation of designers that came after her. She is a figure admired by her contemporaries, and revered by her successors.