In the world of haute couture, it is generally the design ideas that get recycled, not the clothes themselves. Barely has one decade ended before its trends resurface as retro chic: new clothes, same old look.
Little wonder, therefore, that the art and fashion worlds are beginning to sit up and take notice of 33-year-old Masahiro Nakagawa. As a designer, he has won a devoted following among Tokyo's youth for his hip 20471120 label (so named for Nakagawa's conviction that "something will happen on Nov. 20, 2047").
Under the name of Nakagawa Sochi, however, he is the anticonsumerism crusader behind the Tokyo Recycle Project, where old clothes get a brand-new look.