Is Tokyo the Next World Fashion Capitol?
The Not From Paris blog has an interesting article from a few days ago about the ascendance of Tokyo as the next world fashion capitol. The writer doesn’t seem to be against the idea that Tokyo is rising, but he/she doesn’t believe that it can become one of the key fashion cities in the world just because it’s cool. The basic premise of the article is stated thus:
Japanese Street Style is not the same thing as Japanese Fashion.
Most of the time, when you hear (or read) people talking about Tokyo’s growing place on the fashion map, it’s because Japanese brands are increasingly popular and influential around the world. There is absolutely no doubt that Japanese fashion has huge buzz and coolness factor — from the niche subculture brands (Angelic Pretty, Bape, etc.) up to the highest luxury brands (Comme De Garcons, Issey Miyake, etc.) — but the author of the Not From Paris piece argues that popularity and influence are not enough to put Tokyo in the same class as a city like New York.
The author argues:
Style is not the same as fashion. Fashion is an industry. Every fashion capital has come into existence because of a unique technical and philosophical approach towards fashion.
There are specific production and philosophy-related elements necessary for a geographic area to become a world class player, according to this writer. The writer then goes on to discuss some of areas where they believe that Tokyo stands out in these regards. If you’re interested in Tokyo fashion (and why would you be reading this post otherwise), you may be interested in checking out the full article.
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