Japanese Influence S/S 08

[Monkiwrensh]

I really like the traditional Balenciaga prints especially against those unusual and robotic shapes. I think its a nice contrast. Apart from that and perhaps the Lanvin dresses I am continually finding traditionally Japanese inspired pieces a bit dull. I think on a personal level this is because when I was younger I was obsessed with traditional floral Japanese prints and used to draw them all the time in my art class, so now when I see things which remind me of this time I feel a bit exhausted of the motif.

 

[gius]

Here's an old thread from '06

Designers inspired by the kimono

 

[John_M.]

It would be foolish of me to not come into a thread about Japan since Japan is my favorite country (besides my native United States, of course). The thing I take away from Japanese style is how colorful everything is. The funniest way to put it is that you can dress up almost any way you like, and you're trendy. Either trendy or have your own style. I think it's great that Gwen Stefani first brought up the sort of Japanese influence with the Harajuku Girls deal. Nice to see someone take up on Japanese style rather than put it aside. I always felt there was some sort of rule in popular American culture in which you pay no mind to anything Japanese. You know... always vote an American or European car over anything Japanese.

Babbling aside, my favorite Asian touch has to be the classic garments with beautiful flowers on them. There's just something about Asian women's fashion (let alone Japanese) in which the flower designs are so beautiful and flows beautifully. I've always loved a classic Mandarin dress (usually red, but I've seen other colors) with the beautiful flower patterns adorned on the dress. The reddish-orange Dolce and Gabbana dress in Post #15 is somewhat an example of the beautiful flower designs I'm talking about. That dress looks amazing. I personally love sakura (cherry blossom) trees. The pinkish-white flowers on sakura trees are absolutely beautiful to look at. The more designers are able to create trendy and chic outfits with Japanese influence, the better. I'm just so curious as to why there aren't very many Japanese (or at least Asian) influenced fashions for ladies. I know America and Europe have outstanding designs and styles, but why not Japan? They don't have the best fashion styles to rival anything of America or Europe, but they still have some lovely influences. The sakura designs alone are enough to showcase how beautiful Japanese and Japanese-inspired fashion can be. Question is... will designers ever get to create Japanese-inspired fashion to get women to wear something fun and chic and beautiful? At least from these pictures, designers are surely putting forth their best efforts.

 

[saann]

me in my kimono from china.. I wish I had a picture where u could see the print better but I don't.. the print is really lovely

 

[Deborah]

Lovely kimono saann.