Style & Design

Collaborations, ethical statements and flashback trends — is Japanese fashion going through an identity crisis?

From elegant bud vases to innovative color-changing vessels, ceramists in Japan prove you don't need an elaborate bouquet to highlight flowers in the home.

Tokujin Yoshioka's design for Homme Plisse Issey Miyake/Aoyama, Issey Miyake Homme Plisse's first flagship, includes gravity-defying clothing rails, raw concrete minimalism and a showstopping special pleating machine.

Striking designs can come from unusual inspirations. This month looks at designer collaborations with Japanese veteran manufacturers, including a laboratory glassware maker, and an injection mold specialist.

"Fashion and costume can offer freedom, protection, power. Sometimes they can even change the world." So says Chiaki Shimizu, a textile designer who is on a mission to prove that fashion is an underutilized resource for social change. Pull on a favorite sweater and feel the ...

Nature takes precedence in Shigeru Ban's unusual design for Shishi- Iwa House, a resort hotel in Karuizawa designed to encourage human interaction within luxury minimalism.

My mentor in all things fashion, a Parisienne buyer who prefers to remain unnamed, once confidently asserted in her usual grandiose manner, "You know that fashion is over when designers start relying on irony." She was referring to the "it's cool because it isn't, ...

Manufacturing in Japan has had a lot to contend with since its latter Showa Era (1926-1989) golden years. With so many cheaper imports available, locally made everyday items are becoming increasingly harder to find. But there are some manufacturing stalwarts out there who are ...

Raised by Indonesian Muslim parents in Tokyo, Aufa Yazid and Ghufron Yazid bring a cross-cultural perspective to fashion and art while adhering to their faith.

"Is Japan the new international center for bespoke suits, shirts and shoes?" Find out what the industry panelists of a symposium in Tokyo have to say.

From cat beds to toy DJ decks and sleek furniture, plenty of stylish goods are emerging from Japan's new brand lines.