Over the last few years, most mainstream fashion -- in London, Paris, New York or wherever -- has tended toward a softer, more casual look, and taking inspiration from various genres like streetwear has become the norm.

Now, across the board, fashion has moved toward a much more understated look -- especially so given the current state of the world. But while the vast majority of people who are into designer wear closely follow what is happening on the runways, or take their cues from fashion magazines, there is another side to the coin: haute couture.

The translation of this French term is "high needlework," and in its pure form this often incredibly expensive genre of style still conforms to many of its original parameters -- each garment is made to measure for the client, each piece is original, and the couturier maintains a Paris salon. A true couturier belongs to an exclusive grouping of the world's top couturieres as a member of the Paris-based Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne.

While couture as we know it today had its heyday in the early to middle part of the last century it is still a thriving form of fashion today, albeit for a very limited number of wealthy clients and an even smaller number of designers.

Two Japanese designers who have made their mark in this highest form of fashion are Hanae Mori and menswear designer Masatomo Yamaji.

Although Yamaji cannot officially be called a true couturier, as he lacks a Paris atelier and membership in the hallowed Chambre Syndicale, he works within the true spirit of the genre by using the best fabrics (some are made exclusively for him by Japanese artisans) and producing very limited numbers of each jacket or shirt each season.

In his most recent show at the Paris men's collections Yamaji's expertise in the creative use of fabric was again apparent: the variety and specific mixture of fibers used (both natural and high-tech ones manufactured in Japan) in various jackets and suits meant that the light shining on them added another dimension.

These textiles proved eye-catching in the extreme, with glitzy, metallic Prince of Wales check single-breasted suits and his iridescent "snake-print" jackets.

Other interesting fabrics were faux-giraffe shirts, some beautiful shibori tie-dyed suits, and jackets inset with leather for a combined matte and shiny finish.

In among the fabrics derived from traditional processes, a new one on the runway in his Tokyo collection was a soft hemplike fabric derived from bamboo fibers. At the other end of the spectrum, Yamaji utilized techno-fabrics, which included an ultralightweight polyester used for umbrellas and a bonded fabric in which three layers are sandwiched together. This last fabric was used to perfection in a shiny black single-breasted jacket lined with a burgundy shell, which Yamaji paired with a translucent silk-and-polyester shirt in the same color as the lining.

Colors, too, have been substantially toned down compared to some of his previous offerings -- no scarlets, bright purples or Day-Glo orange or green this time around.

The palette is simple, using basics like black, navy, ivory and beige. To some pieces he has added accents like violet vents or bright-red buttons partially hidden under cuffs -- subtle and understated but very eye-catching when seen.

In contrast to Yamaji's show for his Masatomo brand, which was presented at the Maison de la Culture du Japon, Hanae Mori, Japan's first lady of fashion, offered a catwalk show that was literally a live version of her recently published work, "Hanae Mori Style."

The book details some extraordinarily beautiful pieces that Mori has designed during her more than three decades as this country's foremost couturiere.

Those garments, including exquisite hand-beaded cocktail dresses or butterfly-print ensembles, are now preserved for posterity -- in both real life and in photographic form -- but the 30-odd pieces that Mori sent out during the catwalk show confirmed that she is still attached to her career's leitmotifs: nature and beauty.

After presenting her first collection in New York in 1965, finally -- in 1977 -- Mori was awarded membership of the Chambre Syndicale de la Couture Parisienne. To this day she remains the only Japanese ever admitted to this prestigious body.

On the runway for her fall/winter 2001 collection, she mixed the oriental with the occidental.

East came in the form of a full-length wisteria-print evening dress, a ukiyo-e-patterned chiffon dress, a rose-colored kimono coat and her final offering stunning, hand-painted kimono coats adorned with brightly colored flowers and birds and trimmed around the collars and lapels with mink.

From among the pieces inspired by Western dresses, she showed fitted cocktail evening wear, elegant pantsuits, a two-tone Art Deco-style dress and a flowing, navy chiffon sleeveless dress with a sequined butterfly flitting across the front.

Japanese design in the last decade or so has lost much of its status compared with the late '70s to early and mid-'80s. This was when the first wave of Japanese designers hit Paris, and when Rei Kawakubo, Yohji Yamamoto, Issey Miyake and Mori put Japan firmly on the world fashion map. Twenty years on, out of all the Japanese designers who have showed in France it is only Mori and Yamaji who have carved out a niche in this specialized field.

A decade ago, the great debate was whether couture would survive into the new century.

It has and, with a little help from these two Japanese designers who have injected it with an Eastern spirit, haute couture will surely live on, cherished by those whose style and tastes match those of its creators.