on oublie trop vite certaines références, son kiff c’était de phagocyter ses modèles dans ses a-poc:
http://www.isseymiyake.co.jp/

Il Designer giapponese Nendo ha completato un negozio a Tokyo per lo stilista Issey Miyake, chiamato 24 Issey Miyake, il negozio si ispira ai “convenience stores” giapponesi.
Ogni articolo esposto è disponibile in venti colori e il negozio cambierà completamente la sua scorta ogni due mesi.
Non è previsto il magazzino e i capi di abbigliamento sono esposti su scaffali bianchi e appendiabiti fatti di  barre di acciaio da 7 mm.

I really enjoy the contrast between a white palate and the colorful clothing.  It really helps the product standout from the space.

”24 issey miyake‘ is a new concept shop designed by nendo, which offers a brightly colored
selection of items selected from issey miyake’s lines, along with new and original products
created especially for the shop. the concept for the store is derived from the ‘harmonious chaos’
of the japanese convenience store. the name in itself ‘24′, is a direct highlight to this association,
and the logo features the kind of stripes which you might find on the facade of a convenience store.

in order to keep the space as small as possible and pack it with a range of products,
the idea of a back room storage has been omitted, with available products out on the shelves
at all times. the shop’s line-up is renewed every two months, with each item available in
20 different colors. even their packaging draws on that of food packaging. because the goods
themselves are so vibrant, the entire shop functions more as a display, with a white backdrop
and lines of 7mm steel fixtures – including hangers and shelving – all formed like shopping baskets.
the minimalist design also gives the colored products a sense of volume within the space.

the idea is that as the items change, the shop itself will transform dramatically.’

nendo: ‘24 issey miyake’ concept shop.

Chanel Iman is een rijzende ster in de modellenwereld. Steeds vaker zie je haar op de catwalk en in de

bladeren. Ze is deels Koreaans en Afrikaans-Amerikaans en heeft voor vele grote designers gewerkt zoals

Dolce & Gabbana, Issey Miyake, Kenzo, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney, Valentino, Bottega Veneta,

Dsquared, Hermès, Moschino, Oscar de la Renta en Jean Paul Gaultier.

Ze heeft ook het perfecte modellenfiguur. Benen die ultraslank en lang zijn. Zoals je kunt zien op de

foto’s hieronder. Haar stijl is leuk. Ze probeert steeds wel weer iets anders uit.

Ze houdt van een stoere look met vrouwelijk touch, zoals high heels, juwelen en bont. Hopelijk nep bont.

Ik vind haar een heel mooi meisje. Een heel zacht gezicht waar ik van hou.

Ik kom erachter dat ze jonger is dan mij! Dat had ik niet verwacht. Had haar niet veel ouder geschat, maar

jonger! Ze is geboren op 30 november 1989 in Georgia. Ze staat onder contract bij Ford Models. Ook heeft

ze dit jaar voor het eerst voor Victoria Secret gelopen. Ik denk dat we nog veel meer van haar gaan horen.

勝井北斗／パーソンズで学んだ後、セントマーチンズ卒業。八木奈央／同志社大学卒業。セントマーチンズ卒業。
2001年設立。’03 S/S東京コレクション参加。05年モエ・エ・シャンドンデザイナー新人賞受賞。07年渋谷パルコに直営店オープン。21_21 design sight THIS PLAY! 展で作品を発表。08年’09S/Sサンパウロコレクションでオープニングを飾る。大阪成蹊大学芸術学部客員教授。09年 ミラノサローネTOKYO FIBER ‘09展で作品を発表。
Katsui graduated from Central Saint Martins College after studying at Parsons The New School for Design. Yagi graduated from Doshisha University and Central Saint Martins College.
The brand, mintdesigns was launched in 2001. They have been in Tokyo Collection since ‘03 S/S. The awards they won include the Moet et Chandon New Designer’s Award in 2005. In 2007, mintdesigns garage store opened in Shibuya PARCO. They presented their collection in the 21_21 DESIGN SIGHT THIS PLAY! show. In 2008, they presented the opening show at São Paulo Fashion Week for ‘09 S/S. Both designers currently hold positions as guest professors at the Faculty of Art and Design at Osaka Seikei University. In 2009 they presented their collection at the Milano Salone TOKYO FIBER ‘09.Mint Designs turned out a dainty crop of dresses featuring details such as shimmery stripes, textured fabric and quirky graphics. One frock featured a darling print of tiny Charlie Chaplins, while another showcased circular cutouts along the sides.

Issey Miyake hat sich die Natur als großartigsten Duftlieferanten verschrieben und lässt sich von ihr inspirieren. Für a scent by issey miyake sind Inspirationen aus Asien zu einem neuen Duft vereinigt worden. Blätter der aromatischduftenden Zitronenverbena, Blütenextrakt aus Jasmin und Hyazinthe und edelste Hölzer von Galbanum und Zedern.

Das Ergebnis kann sich riechen lassen. A scent by Issey Miyake ist ein Parfum mit einem frischen, weiblichen und elegantem Duft. Trotzdem ist der Duft dezent und umhüllt die Trägerin ganz natürlich – ein sehr angenehmer Naturduft.

Die Flakons sind vom Glas inspiriert und scheinen, als ob sie aus einem Block herausgeschnitten wurden. Je nach Flakoninhalt unterscheiden sich die Flakons in ihrer Tiefe. Damit verkörpert das Parfum genau, was der aus Japan stammende Issey Miyake einmal sagte: “Bei meinen Kreationen lasse ich mich immer von dem einfachsten und zugleich wesentlichsten Gedanken leiten.”

Die A Scent Produktreihe für Frauen umfasst:

• Eau de Toilette (EdT) / Parfum
• Body Lotion / Körperlotion
• Shower Gel / Duschgel
• Deodorant Spray

Okay, I know that Paris Fashion Week ended a couple of weeks ago, but it took me a while to look at all of the shows because (1) They are so fabulous and (2) There are so many!  The designers showing in Paris definately kept the standard of the being the best.  I was absolutely blown away by some of the shows and there were an impressive amount of collections where I loved every piece (Chanel, Tsumori Chisato, Givenchy, Rue du Mail, Valentino, Isabel Marant….to name a few).  AMAZING.  Anyway, there were many pieces that represented the trends that I’ve mentioned in the past few posts, but there were also a couple new looks that I will talk about as well.  But for the most part, for the Paris collections, anything goes!  I saw some pieces that were super structured, some that were relaxed, some pleated, some tight, bright colors, dark neturals and everything in between!  Here are some examples of what I thought were the best:

Trend: Cute Minis

Just like the rest, these are from the designers’ Spring line, but these cute little numbers are easily layered and totally in for the Fall!

Trend: Grecian Inspired Draping

This look is so flattering and serves as a great palate to add layers.

Trend: Metallics

This look wasn’t as flashy or abundant on the Paris runways, but it definitely still had a presence!

Trend: Jumpsuits & Rompers

These pieces are so easy to wear right now.  They are perfect with tights, a cardigan and a great belt!

Trend: Asymmetric

Trend: Ruffles & Bows

Lots and lots of ruffles!

Staple: Cool Jackets

Especially now, a unique jacket really makes an outfit pop.  Check these out for inspiration:

Staple: Cute Shorts

Ultra-feminine and comfortable, enough said!  Flowy shorts are perfect to pair with patterned tights when it gets a bit chilly.

Staple: White Suit

Classic, chic & never goes out of style.

Styling Trend: Strong v. Feminine

Balance any outfit with this technique!  In Paris, it was mostly used with draping.

Styling Trend: Mixing Prints

Can be tricky, but take a few pointers from Dries Van Noten; the majority of their looks were compiled of patterned layers.

New Trend: Relaxed Pants

Whereas we saw a lot of Harem cut pants on the other runways, in Paris the entire pant leg was relaxed.  But designers also used lux, flowy fabrics, to make these comfortable pieces still luxurious, chic, and ready for a night on the town.  Some are still tailored, but others remind me of a genie pant! (in a good way!)

New Trend: Tuxedo-Inspired

There were a large amount of pieces on the Paris runways that seemed to be inspired by the tuxedo.  Whether the focus is on the lapel, cumberbund, bowtie, dickey, or simply the jacket, these pieces are a great way to dress up a casual outfit.

New Trend: Textures

What’s a great way to amp up some of your pieces? Look for ones that are more than two dimensional!  Textures add a unique dynamic to your every-day outfit.  Not sure where to start?  This is a great time to get textural sweaters, a fun, textured shirt to wear under a cardigan, a furry vest, or even something as simple as a quilted accesory.

The rest of these are just a few more that I enjoyed:

ahhhh, wasn’t that fun? Paris fashion is so inspiring!

Düfte, die zum Zeitgefühl und zur aktuellen Fashion passen, finden Sie ganz bestimmt – und das zu fairen Preisen – in Ihrer Online Parfumerie.
Sie haben die Qual der Wahl zwischen – beschwingt, frisch, heiter – sinnlich, extravagant, orientalisch – elegant, klassisch, zeitlos.
Daraus ergibt sich eigentlich zwingend, dass ein Duft nicht reicht.

Os anos 1980 parecem nunca terminar, pelo menos para quem vive na primeira década do terceiro milênio. Desde o começo dos anos 2000 que sinais de revisitação da chamada década perdida (nome dado pela imprensa para a estagnação econômica dos países latino-americanos na época) são sentidos na música, nas artes e na moda. Mas é interessante notar o quanto é muito peculiar a visão que os jovens de hoje tem em suas releituras da década de 80. Eles enxergam liberdades em um período que foi completamente conservador em relação aos anos 70 e 60.
Em política, a eleição do republicano Ronald Reagan nos Estados Unidos e da dama de ferro Margaret Thatcher na Inglaterra selou uma nova era pra economia mundial: o neoliberalismo sem intervenção do Estado. O hoje chamado reaganismo sofreu sua mais dura apunhalada pelas costas pelo próprio capitalismo que o alimentou. A crise hoje, de 2009, tem sofrido uma dura intervenção do Estado na compra de bancos e empresas falidas, algo impensável e totalmente condenável nos anos 80.
Em artes, foi a década que assistiu a volta à pintura, às telas, depois de duas décadas de arte conceitual. Muitos críticos acreditam que foi uma armação das galerias pra poderem ter objetos para vender – já que as performances e intervenções eram bem pouco palatáveis como produto para muitos compradores de arte -, mas a força ainda hoje de quadros como os de Anselm Kiefer colocam em xeque esse argumento. Assistimos hoje, em São Paulo, depois de todo maneirismo do conceitual já super inserido e amansado dentro da chave do mercado das artes, novamente uma volta à pintura. Esse retorno está sendo realizada por jovens artistas que como a Casa 7, tem uma fixação por números em seu nome, o chamado coleitvo 2000 e Oito e também por artistas como Rodolpho Parigi e Marcos Brias.
Foi nos 80 também que o curador avançou terreno se transformando em artista ou pensador. O caso da curadora Sheila Leirner na Bienal de São Paulo em 1985 que juntou todas as obras do chamado neo-expressionismo em um grande corredor que ficou conhecido como a Grande Tela denota a importância nunca antes sentida e obtida por um curador. Ao utilizar o artista a favor de seu discurso e pensamento, o curador funda uma nova fase nas artes, no qual ele mesmo pode ser visto como artista.
Também é nos anos 80 que o grafite ganha status de arte e passa frequentar galerias, um contrasenso para alguns críticos para com a chamada arte de rua. Para eles, essa operação de levar o grafite para a galeria o enfraqueceu como manifestação espontânea.

A Grande Tela, 1985, o curador como artista

Hoje temos a figura do curador como persona central nas artes sedimentada lá nos anos 80, mas o impasse do grafite e das manifestações da chamada arte de rua parece ainda não solucionado. Basta lembrar do lamentável caso da prisão de uma pichadora por intervir na última Bienal, a de 2008, conhecida como Bienal do Vazio. Ao invadir o espaço do curador, o chamado andar vazio do Pavilhão da Bienal, ela – a pixadora – afrontou o pensamento construído pelo então curador Ivo Mesquita e sua escudeira Ana Paula Cohen. Questões essas estavam todas sendo debatidas nos anos 80, só que naquela década de forma mais progressista e menos opressora.
Em música pop, temos um profusão de gêneros vindos da avalanche punk: new waves, new romantics, os inúmeros estilos hardcores até o grunge. Todas mais comerciais e menos radicais que o punk. Temos também a entrada do hip hop e com ele a música eletrônica começa a ganhar mais espaço, afinal até o rock começa a se utilizar de sintetizadores. Mais pro fim da década, a acid house, a hpsue e o techno saem dos guetos negros de Chicago e Detroit e ganham as rádios. O que se relê hoje da música dos anos 80 é principalmente o rock, talvez a faceta mais acessível musicalmente da década. Em contraposição aos 90 e a música eletrônica que de certa maneira sai da lógica tonal para algo mais modal e experimental, podemos hoje dizer que as novas bandas de rock que tanto sucesso fazem são responsáveis por um certo retrocesso musical dentro de certo contexto, pois além de muitas delas serem pastiches de bandas dos anos 60 e 80, por mais que gostemos de suas sonoridades, elas apontam para uma regressão da audição para o tonal mais palatável, o mesmo acontecendo com uma boa parte da música eletrônica que nos anos 2000 ficou mais comercial, repetitiva – não como as escalas modais pedem mas de ideias. A house bate-cabelo que o diga, ou grite.
Uma nota importante: A rainha do pop Madonna criou um estilo próprio no começo de sua carreira, nos anos 80, com luvas de rendas, faixas na cabeça e colares com crucifixos e símbolos religiosos. Hoje, ela simplesmente segue as tendências.
Por fim, a moda. Nos 80 temos a revolução japonesa causada pela chegada de Rei Kawakubo e Yohji Yamamoto em Paris, somando com outro nome, Issey Miyake, estava formado aquilo que seria conhecido como japonismo. O preto toma conta das passarelas, assim como novas formas e tecidos tecnológicos, experimentações de novas silhuetas. Looks que lembravam os mendigos recebe dos críticos de moda o nome de pauperismo. Do lado ocidental, o ultra sexy de Azzedine Alaïa, Claude Montana e Thierry Mugler também ganham notoriedade assim como o deboche de Jean-Paul Gaultier, que na época era chamado de “enfant terrible” da moda. No fim da década contra todo o conceitualismo do japonismo que reinou no imaginário da moda surge o barroco de Christian Lacroix.

Vestido Comme des Garçons, 1987: pauperismo, preto, japonismo, revolução

A força das idéias inovadoras do japonismo não parecem ter tanta força hoje na releitura que temos dos anos 80, nem o barroco de Lacroix que está em processo de falência com sua marca. O foco hoje é mais voltado para o chamado power dressing, isto é, uma roupa que indica o novo poder econômico que mulheres ganharam nos 80. Então ombreiras, blazers estruturados e cintura alta são os itens em alta nessa incansável revisitação que os anos 2000 estão fazendo de uma década que foi muito plural, mas essencialmente conservadora. E pela leitura progressista que a geração do terceiro milênio faz dela, comprova que vivemos tempos mais conservadores ainda.

Power Dressing: Força nas ombreiras

[Esse texto revisto e ampliado foi publicado de forma mais resumida no site da TAM]

Yup yup! The day has finally come- I’m no longer a teenager anymore. And since I’ve turned 20 (a relatively landmark age) I thought I’d share my birthday wishlist, albeit a bit late (my birthday was actually on Tuesday)

So in my mind, when a girl finally turns 20, the thing that should come to her mind first and foremost is: ANTI-AGING products.

I know I know- 20 is still a young age, but this is actually prime time to start taking really good care of your skin. And well, of your life I guess. After all, not only do I have to worry about getting wrinkles, I have to start thinking about WHAT TO DO AFTER GRADUATION!?!??But anyway, here are the products (from left to right, starting from the top):

1. Michelle Roy Flower Bib Necklace- I recently discovered Michelle Roy designs- her covetable accessories has garnered much attention and frankly speaking, they’re the perfect addition to any outfit!

2. A Scent by Issey Miyake- I first spotted it in a Korean Women’s Fashion Magazine and I’ve been seeing it everywhere ever since, including Paris Vogue. I was immediately attracted to the overall simplicity of the bottle, the title, and according to Paris Vogue it has a very “pure” and fresh scent reminiscent of nature.

3. Chloe 2-toned Wedge Ankle Boots- So this is my one ultra splurge item I like to insert into any wishlist, always just for fun because I know I will never be able to afford it haha. And I guess… um, they’re hot? [Buy at Brown's Fashion]

4. Supremya by Sisley- An ultra ultra splurge item (quite unnecessarily expensive actually)? But what the hey? This is just one anti-aging product I’ve been seeing floating around magazine beauty articles. I hear Lancome and Shiseido and Estee Lauder have pretty good anti-aging moisturizers as well.

5. Manolo Blahnik’s Drawings- I’ve recently started up a new hobby: sketching/fashion sketching. And I think this book will be perfect for amping up my creative juices. Plus, who can say no to Manolo’s?

6. Where the Wild Things Are Soundtrack by Karen O and the Kids- I have not yet seen the movie, and I hear it is very sad. But I love Max! And Karen O is my idol/religion. Dude, when I read in a NYLON interview that Karen O was half Korean, I was like “Ah”. It’s times like these when I actually feel a bit proud to be Korean haha (BTW- Colette is such a cool store!)

7. AnOther Magazine Subscription- Please Please Pleaseeeeee. I didn’t know Jefferson Hack was this cool. This is just one of those magazines you MUST have. This and Paris Vogue and Purple. (Curse Boston for not holding these mags)

Anyways. Sorry for this abnormally long post. I thought I’d make up for all my lack of posting in this one epic post haha

THANKS FOR READING!! <3

-MJ

Yesterday was a crummy day, so I dug through my stash of perfume samples and picked out l’Eau d’Issey by Issey Miyake, in hopes that a new scent would change my perspective. Oh, I had high hopes, too high, evidently. For fear that I wouldn’t like the perfume, I sprayed it on a towel in the bathroom instead of putting it on my own skin. Boy, am I glad I did that, because have you ever tried to wash off perfume? You can’t, it doesn’t wash away, I don’t know why. So at least the scent is on a towel and not on me. Though now I am annoyed every time I walk into the bathroom.  I have smelled this one before, not just on other women, but in other perfumes. It seems so generic and bland. L’Eau d’Issey is a floral that is described as “fresh” and “sparkling,” with notes of lotus, cyclamen, carnation, lily, and heavy on the freesia- at least to my nose. It makes me remember the experience I had with Escape by Calvin Klein, though dissimilar in many ways- I was lured in by smelling it on someone else (everybody on Earth was wearing it at the time) and I bought a small sample-size bottle. Once it was on my skin, however, I just wanted to be rid of it. For a “fresh” scent, it sure had unbelievably aggravating staying power. I have had it up to HERE with these “fresh” scents. To me, l”Eau d’Issey is pale and watery and all the floral notes it contains are not enough to make up for how nondescript it is. I am sure that it will continue to be a popular scent that I will catch wind of wherever I go, but as for that towel in the bathroom, it’s going into the wash TODAY.

Em Paris os grandes shows de moda!!! Só pra dar um gostinho…

Alexander McQueen como sempre genial.

Balenciaga trouxe uma moda street luxuosa.

Chanel… acho que estou numa fase super fã. Amei. E teve direito até a show de Lily Allen. Quer ver? Clique aqui!!! 

Chloé mostrou que bege e branco vêm com tudo nessa estação em diferentes formas.

Christian Dior  dispensa comentários…

Elie Saab… esse azul é tendência no verão!! Apostem!

Emanuel Ungaro… com Lindsay Lohan… uhn será?? Não sei não. Só posso dizer que pink também é tendência.

Gareth Pugh muito bom like always.

Hermès

Hussein Chalayan não foi seu o melhor desfile mas como sempre inova.

Issey Miyake muito lindo. Principalmente o jogo de estampas.

Jean Paul Gaultier

经典女香系列 (三) 青春俏丽系列 (产品编号:pw-603)

价格：RM38

一盒共六小瓶 (6 bottles x 5 ml)

1. 香气灵感来自 No. 5, Chanel
2. 香气灵感来自 Pleasure, Estee Lauder
3. 香气灵感来自 L’Eau D’Issey, Issey Miyake
4. 香气灵感来自 Romance, Ralph Lauren
5. 香气灵感来自 Deep Red, Hugo Boss
6. 香气灵感来自 Flower, Kenzo

如何购买？

Alguns acham que uma aura “cafona” pairou no ar dos desfiles da Prada e Miu Miu para o próximo verão europeu, mas pelas imagens abaixo vemos que têm muita gente pensando nisso, mudando o lugar do que convencionamos  achar de mal-gosto. Enjoy!

Prada

Miu Miu

Issey Miyake

Louis Vuitton

Giles Deacon

Christian Dior

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

Comme des Garçons

———

Fotos: Nymag.com

When Rei Kawakubo shows the spring/summer 2010 Comme des Garçons womenswear collection in Paris today it will mark 40 years in the fashion business. Next year, Issey Miyake follows suit and in spring 2011 the V&A in London will unveil a retrospective of Yohji Yamamoto’s work, commemorating 30 years since his first show in Paris. The middle-ageing of the triumvirate of revolutionary Japanese design is as shocking as any of their more confrontational collections; to many of their modernist followers they still seem like box-fresh radical upstarts, while for the high street they have only recently come into existence through diffusion projects with the likes of H&M and Adidas. So, four decades on, have they really revolutionised the world of fashion?

Although they were all active in Japan in the 70s (Yamamoto founded his company in 1972), it wasn’t until they all came to the prêt a porter in Paris in the 80s that they made their mark on international fashion. ‘Western fashion at the time was surprisingly conventional,’ says Claire Wilcox, one of the V&A’s key fashion curators. ‘They had a huge impact, creating a disruption of construction.’ It was the shock of the new: unstructured, deconstructed and skewed garments, the antithesis of an era defined by body hugging Alaïa and the shoulder pad. ‘Their work is about opposition to body shape,’ says Wilcox. ‘A Miyake Pleats Please dress moves in opposition to the natural form, and Kawakubo’s Bumps collection was a total distortion of the human body.’ Similarly confrontational was their absence of colour palette – everything in black.

Their arrival coincided with the formative years of some of today’s most celebrated designers. ‘I was just finishing my studies,’ recalls Ann Demeulemeester, ‘and it was a brave new step in fashion – the beginning of a new freedom for me as a designer and as a woman.’ Demeulemeester’s aesthetic has continued to work in parallel with the promise of the Japanese revolution, shunning trend, embracing the avant garde, and focusing on monochrome; ‘because like an architect, new structures are clearer in black and white.’

John Richmond and Maria Cornejo were Thatcher-era London clubland prodigies with 14 short-lived shops worldwide selling their 3D Richmond Cornejo label. Richmond continued, solo, with immense success and Cornejo recently celebrated 10 years of her New York-based Zero label, renowned for strength and purity of cut. ‘When I was growing up you couldn’t find black clothes,’ says Richmond. ‘It was only with the Japanese that black really started. I love using black because I grew up in Manchester where the light always makes colour look grim.’ For Cornejo, it was about shape and attitude: ‘They were so innovative with their cutting and they also found a way of working within the fashion system that broke new ground.’ Rick Owens, whose artful deconstruction and haute murk shares the Japanese spirit, found their outsider status as much an inspiration as their cuts: ‘For a 19 year old art student goth, it was illuminating to see that the uptight fashion world could accommodate a weirdo. If Halston gave the world the white butterfly orchid, Comme gave us black leggings.’

If they weren’t quite minimalist, their focus on volume, cut and head-to-toe black was reductionist, Zen perhaps. And there was practicality too: shove a boiled wool Comme jacket in an overhead locker for an 11 hour flight and it’ll look the same on arrival as it did on the catwalk. When Joan Burstein of Browns opened the Comme des Garçons shop in London, it attracted a loyal following of tastemakers who wanted to dress as if they were above the vulgar whimsy of fashion, and were willing to pay four figures for it. ‘It was a hard sell,’ Burstein recalls, ‘but it’s a cult.’

The Japanese sense of ‘otherness’ was accentuated by the style of their presentation – bleak catwalk shows akin to performance art. Miyake presented his ‘body sculpture’ as high art; his static Bodyworks show toured the world, and he collaborated with Irving Penn on coffee table photography books. The style world in the 80s was fascinated by the avant garde chic of all things Japanese – this was a time when David Bowie would wax lyrical about his love of sushi as if it were food from outer space – and there were clear identifiably traditional Japanese elements to Kawakubo, Miyake and Yamamoto.

‘The influence of the kimono was definitely apparent,’ says Professor Wendy Dagworthy of the RCA. ‘They took traditional dress and did it in a very modern way.’ Dagworthy believes that there has been as strong a Japanese attraction to the west as there has been a western attraction to the insider-cool of the Japanese: ‘They have a clear love of western fashion and culture. One of my favourite Yamamoto collections was in the 80s and shown as an homage to 60s Cardin; very molded with lots of holes cut out of it – the shapes were very beautiful.’ Conversely, designer Hussein Chalayan believes that the Japanese ‘at times caricature the west’.

While they have all taken cues from western arts (Kawakubo has produced collections in recent years inspired by the Rolling Stones and the Sex Pistols), there’s perhaps a darker dynamic between west and east that gives their work its edge. When I interviewed Yohji Yamamoto in Tokyo for the Financial Times two years ago, he spoke of his hatred for the westernised youth of Japan, the mega-malls in Roppongi (‘they all look like Disneyland’) and the destruction of traditional Japanese culture at the hands of the west: ‘Until the end of the 70s there were strong looking women on the streets of Omotesando, but after the early 80s they became more Americanised. To be frank, I hate it. Sometimes I’m flying to another city and I’m sitting next to a fat American guy in shorts and a T-shirt and I just… I can’t believe it.’

Japanese designers’ often aggressive sense of detachment from the west has fuelled the west’s fascination. ‘Their work has an integrity that western fashion lacks,’ says fashion author and curator Bradley Quinn. ‘Their work is more about nature than artifice.’ Hussein Chalayan agrees: ‘The most important influence on their work is the philosophy of wabi-sabi, a thesis about the beauty of the moment and the actuality of being. It is the magic of being Japanese that could never be understood by anyone but the Japanese themselves.’ Certainly austerity and asymmetry is as integral to wabi-sabi philosophy as Japanese fashion; and there’s also a recurrent sense of the rough and the organic (particularly in Miyake’s work); the glorious imperfections of nature. It’s this ‘look’ that has, perhaps, been mistaken as nihilist.

The various forays into more typically western commercial fashion territory have sometimes been uncomfortable. When Miyake launched a fragrance in 1994, it chimed as uncharacteristic and strange, as if the Miyake customer might be above something as frivolous as a perfume, but it spawned a full line of Duty Free favourites (including the latest, a scent by issey miyake, which launched in August), while Comme’s fragrance range is ever growing. When Yamamoto showed a range of Adidas trainers in 2001, it seemed shocking – two incompatible worlds colliding, like wearing Joseph Beuys’ Felt Suit to an Essex nightclub. Then a year later he launched Y-3, an immense commercial success, and sportswear and the high street didn’t seem like such distant universes anymore. ‘It makes perfect sense,’ says Claire Wilcox. ‘The sports shoe in particular is a perfect match – the very idea of high heels with Japanese fashion is ridiculous.’

The Japanese fashion revolution, from the 80s black-on-black tsunami that rocked Paris to the artful selling out into luggage and bathroom products in recent years has paved the way for a whole new generation of eastern designers, from Jun Takashi of Undercover and Junya Watanabe to Yamamoto’s daughter Limi Feu, who now sells through her father’s London shop. Meanwhile, Kawakubo, Miyake and Yamamoto continue to embrace their ‘otherness’ in Paris, far away from gauche ‘trend’. For this autumn Miyake catwalked bold geometrically patterned and pleated womenswear on four karate players, while Comme des Garcon’s Homme Plus collection riffed on dandy tailoring, bringing together pin stripe and leopard print. Yamamoto, meanwhile, presented his men as Hasidic Jews and 19^th century wild west pioneers… in pyjamas. His women’s collection was classic Yamamoto: all sleek elongated silhouettes and all black. If there’s one thing that 40 years of Japanese design has brought to the west it’s the understanding that when it comes to what shifts and what never ends up on the sale rail at the end of the season, black is always the new black.

Issey Miyake as seen by Irving Penn, 1987

One of fashion and American photography’s most prolific artists has passed away.