Western and Japanese fashion have plenty of similarities, and even though you are probably wondering how this is possible since they are on different continents, we can answer that by saying: Yes!
The fact is that these two cultures feed off each other when it comes to style and inspiration, especially for streetwear and fashion statements. The idea is to understand how these two cultures are influencing each other in today’s time.
The best way to understand the Japanese culture is to visit it, and you can easily book a vacation at Alljapantours.com or other travel agencies.
The fact that Japan is cool when it comes to fashion trends is positive,and you have to enter Tokyo to see that it is one of the greatest fashion capitals in the world, after the primary ones such as Milan, Paris, London and New York.
We are not stating that due to influence that Japanese wave makes on the world fashion today, but due to a great street style that inspired people from all across the globe, which is considered as unconventional and alternative trends.
Traditional Japanese Fashion
The classic kimono silhouette is something that we can instantly connect with Japanese fashion. At the same time, today’s exhibitions from collectors of all across the globe have used kimonos as the perfect transition between Western and Eastern fashion perspectives.
Kimonos come in wide array of styles, and you can wear them for different occasions as well. Frequently speaking, they feature silk or cotton as well as multi-colored blocks prints that are embroidered in floral patterns.
The most common and widely recognized Japanese patterns are butterfly prints and cherry blossom. Traditionally speaking, Japanese fabrics are using woodblock printing and dyeing techniques so that they can implement and create repetitive patterns.
Western Fashion Uses Japan for Inspiration and Vice Versa
Since Japan features a rich heritage, it became an inspiration for most western designers nowadays such as Zuhair Murad, Armani, and Marni. While they are drawing inspiration through traditional costumes and styles, Japanese designers have motivation beyond their roots and past.
They are turning their historical perspectives into an aesthetics that became a significant fashion movement.
- De-Construction Movement
These particular movements started back in the ‘70s and became famous and prominent in the 80s, and it is an era of new expression when it comes to fashion.
For instance, traditional feminine silhouettes were de-constructed, challenged, and that paved a road toward a new aesthetics.
Everything started with Japanese designers such as Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, and Rei Kawakubo, and all of them played with the idea of androgyny and embraced imperfections and unevenness and created beautiful clothing lines that stood the test of time.
- Comme des Garcons
Rei Kawakubo, who was also designer and founder of Comme Des Garcons, is one of the most prominent names in the fashion today.
Check this link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comme_des_Gar%C3%A7ons to learn more on this particular Japanese fashion label.
He blurred the lines between imperfect and perfect, made and unmade, male and female and that appealed to modern women that wished to enjoy in comfort instead of presenting their sexuality.