What is your opinion of Japanese designers ??

[punpanichewa]

Hello guys, welcome back.

Honestly, past 2 days, i realized that how much i missed this board.
OK...Let's we talk about the Japanese Revolution in 80's. Of course we all know about what Rei, Yohji and Miyake did, have revolutionized the world of Japanese Couture. But nowadays, are they still fresh as they were? I don't think so...CDG mainline hasn't been so successful like the hundred-expanded lines. Yohji, has gone to the king of sneaker and his clothes hasn't been charmful anymore....don't talk about ISM...

How do you think about it??

 

[Hanne]

bumping thread..back into the present..

 

[Spacemiu]

I think they are still the best, not to mention the young designers like Cosmic Wonder, Tao,Junya Watanabe and Undercover.

 

[tott]

The mood is right for the Japanese right now... They've never really disappeared, but with the 80's influences, volume and everything going on currently, they are truly relevant to a wider audience again as I feel it.

 

[sea of stitches]

they are awesome, duh!!

but really, i agree with tott and space. not only are their influences still totally apparent and relevant (texture, muted chaos), but there are the younger designers that are innovating and exploring as well. i agree that cdg can be quite blatantly commerical, but they are still producing interesting items in the mainline. and i like yohji's clothing (i do ignore the collaborated items though)...i find his clothing extremely charming/romantic still. and what do you mean don't talk about issey?

 

[HiHeels]

National Standard, Yab-Yum, Junji Tsuchiya, Theatre Products... there is so much more than yohji out there.

Japanese lead the world in design (both product and fashion), IMO. They are innovative and constantly influencing the west. They seam to be on the verge of "discovery" with actual editorial credit for their impact, but then I would suspect that this will backfire and the fashion flock will regard them as something of a trend, something that passes, when in fact they transcend the limiting categories (gender, sexuality, sensuality, body shape, etc. etc.) that european and american designers constantly embrace, to their own detriment .

 

[tott]

Japanese lead the world in design (both product and fashion), IMO. They are innovative and constantly influencing the west.

Maybe I should try to disagree from a "patriotic" point of view, but I sort of agree. The Japanese put such a big emphasis on shape and design, and I admire that. But we also have European traditions to fall back on, with minimalism and functionalism and all that. It really is impossible to decide where influences originate from. Everything is inspired by something...

 

[tott]

I think I was a bit incoherent above... I absolutely think the Japanese have had a huge influence on clothes design with their cuts, drapes and play with proportions. Not as much when it comes to industrial design.

I was mixing apples and pears...

 

[faust]

Maybe I should try to disagree from a "patriotic" point of view

You should. Sweden holds the #1 spot in the annual creativity index study, follwed by Denmark (or reversed, I don't remember correctly). Japan is #3. Finland is 4, and Norway either 6th or 7th. I don't remember the consulting firm that collects the statistics, but I saw it referenced in WW Daily annual statistics magazine.

 

[m.j.]

i don't have one!!!!!!!

sorry....

 

[tott]

You should. Sweden holds the #1 spot in the annual creativity index study, follwed by Denmark (or reversed, I don't remember correctly). Japan is #3. Finland is 4, and Norway either 6th or 7th. I don't remember the consulting firm that collects the statistics, but I saw it referenced in WW Daily annual statistics magazine.

Wow... But it's not so easy to look at your own country objectively. You take everything for granted and don't really appreciate it I guess...

Do you happen to know what criteria this study is judging?

 

[faust]

Wow... But it's not so easy to look at your own country objectively. You take everything for granted and don't really appreciate it I guess...

Do you happen to know what criteria this study is judging?

I don't remember exactly. I will take a look next time I'm in a book store.

 

[artxstatic]

Japanese designers, in my opinion, are just too cool. Biggest example anyone can give is rei for comme des garcons...she still manages to bring back the old anarchy days to the present...but yes recently she's toned down the eccentricity...i really MISS it! But no worries the younger japanese lot seem quite promising ...check out tokyo fashion week.

 

[HiHeels]

You should. Sweden holds the #1 spot in the annual creativity index study

In the current issue of PLAZA magazine, Swedish designer Eva Schildt had this to say about her experience working with Japanese design firm Askul (just a small excerpt

How did it differ from working for a Swedish client:
The Japanese feel more emotional than rational in their design thinking. They want materials that "make the customer feel good." At the same time, they are amazingly particular and knew exactly what they wanted. I had to redesign some things ten times.
Why did Aksul want Swedish design in particular:
It has a high status in Japan. Many Japanese love Scandinavian design. They are amazingly knowledgeable and often know our design history better than we do. They can talk about Stig Lindberg for hours and say things like "I don't like what Gustavsberg did in the 1960s."


I'm not sure how this translates to fashion, but clearly both are very design-driven cultures, possibly with different approaches, but there is a connection. in my experience, it is a respect for and interest in incorporating nature, natural materials or movement, or just references, bending it when necessary but not overcoming it or supressing it.

 

[The Leviathan]

there is some amazing talent in japan. lots of direction however i feel like many japanese lines lack substance or identity. a few lines like undercover and comme des garcons really are something special but i feel that most are just interchangeable with one another.

 

[rach2jlc]

There is something to what was said above. Japanese design and fashion does GREAT when it is more intuitive, meaning that the designers approach something design-oriented with a feeling as opposed to studying western fashion itself looking for ideas. Yohji, Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake certainly know their stuff, but their originality springs from a certain eccentricity and LACK of concern for trends. Look at Yohji; he keeps the same silhouette even though most others have moved on. Same with the others. The new stock of designers, Undercover, Junya Watanabe, and a few others are much like this... they know what is going on but they are always willing to bring a certain eccentricity to their designs.

I believe that this eccentricity comes because western clothes, while completely incorporated into Japanese culture, as an idea nevertheless are IMPORTS (for example, they still call western clothes "western clothes (yofuku)" in order to differentiate it from kimono, hakama, and other traditional Japanese garments). In this way, many young Japanese have an interesting relationship and certain disregard for some fashion "norms" in the west that gives a fresh approach to dressing.

For example, you'll often see Japanese youth wearing clothes from 2nd hand shops completely divorced from their actual meaning in the west; priest's habits, nun's frocks, various work uniforms, etc... all worn as regular clothes. We wouldn't necessarily think of doing this with such abandon in the west... because we immediately place such clothes into a culturally based-context and base our wearing of such clothes in relation to that context. Not necessarily so in Japan.

We would probably do the same with Japanese clothes (meaning kimono) in the west if we had access to them... but they are so expensive (real ones cost as much as a new car) that we don't really have a stock of them to "try out" without knowing their culture relevance.

On the other hand, when the design is more related to western FASHION, the brands often become too closely identified with a European label. For example, I think that there are about 50 Japanese labels that look so much like Dior Homme that it is almost impossible to tell a difference (unless you find a little "bee" on it somewhere).

John

 

[marconine]

i love japanese food!

hallo!
i just wanted to say that i always enjoi to work with japanese designers.

there is some kind of strictness in their work and organisation, but because of this they are always right in time. the strict hirachy in the companies ,or in their work in general, might seem a little hard for europeans but it gives the whole work concept and basis.no bla bla!
i am really looking forward to be back injapan for work in march!
big love to mihara yasuhiro and the sosu people...

 

[The Leviathan]

but their originality springs from a certain eccentricity and LACK of concern for trends.

i totally agree. labels like n.hoolywood, soe, miharayasuhiro...they all do great things however they really don't have any look which identifies them. these are simply lines which produce overpriced apparel season after season however cool the detailing may be. lines like dior homme, raf simons or even ysl rive gauche all have signature things about them making the clothes mistakeble. and they do this without having to compromise being fashion forward. don't get me wrong. i will be the first to say that japan is the future fashion captial of the world however i think its fickelness is its downfall.

 

[JJohnson]

I feel their collections are very nice and interesting...especially Yamamoto

 

[GuerrillaBoy]

One step ahead....