Style & Design | ON: DESIGN Jun 4, 2016

Japanese design reveals all

by Mio Yamada

Japan is clearly having some fun with transparent product design.

Style & Design Jun 3, 2016

Daughter on board to succeed family-owned geta footwear business

by Mai Yoshikawa

A mix and match of modern and classic is not rare these days, in music Beyonce and Schubert, in cuisine cocktail and sushi, in fashion jeans and geta. No need to wait for a special occasion to glam up your feet with geta as ...

Style & Design | ON: FASHION May 7, 2016

Reviving the old and promoting the new

by Misha Janette and Samuel Thomas

A new hope for traditional menswear It is no secret that George Lucas looked to Japan for inspiration behind the now iconic Jedi robes that every science-fiction fan sees as shorthand for cool on a galactic level. The original Japanese garments that served as ...

Style & Design | ON: DESIGN Apr 30, 2016

Our picks from Salone del Mobile Milano 2016

by Mio Yamada

As always, Japan was well-represented at Salone del Mobile Milano last month, with Sou Fujimoto creating a forest of spotlights for clothing retailer H&M’s COS brand, Panasonic’s “Kukan — The Invention of Space” installation, as well as separate exhibitions, including the Experimental Creations showcase ...

Style & Design | ON: FASHION Apr 9, 2016

New places to shop and an all-inclusive way to approach fashion

by Misha Janette and Samuel Thomas

Diesel adds to the family They say Italians like big, extended families, making the Italian brand Diesel’s new additions to its family of stores very apt. And it’s twins! Diesel has opened a brand new store in Aoyama and next to it is another new ...

Style & Design | News and Notes Apr 8, 2016

Ritz-Carlton, Osaka, expands menu with Japanese restaurant re-opening

The Ritz-Carlton, Osaka’s Japanese restaurant Hanagatami reopened its doors to the public after completing renovations on March 4, welcoming guests on a new culinary journey. Adding more variety to its offerings with its new sumibiyaki (barbecue) counter under the “Rich Food Culture of Osaka” ...

Style & Design | News and Notes Apr 8, 2016

Five Foxes presents fashion, sweets inspired by 400 years of Arita pottery

Five Foxes Co., a Japanese fashion house that works under the idea of blending Japanese tradition into modern fashion, is currently holding events to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Arita ceramics, a globally renowned traditional Japanese craft. In tribute to Arita pottery, the company ...

Style & Design Apr 8, 2016

Model Melody Yoko Reilly believes fashion can influence nation's conservative attitude to race, identity

by Alastair Himmer

In ultra-conservative Japan, where change often happens at a snail’s pace, top catwalk model Melody Yoko Reilly believes fashion has a role to play in shifting society’s attitude to race and identity. The 27-year-old, who was born in California’s Redondo Beach to a Japanese ...

Style & Design | ON: DESIGN Apr 2, 2016

Bags of innovative design

by Mio Yamada

Bags exist in that limbo between fashionable and functional. They carry a purpose but elements of design and style make all the difference.

Style & Design Mar 26, 2016

Designer Jotaro Saito seeks to free the kimono from the confines of tradition

by Samuel Thomas

Jotaro Saito has been showcasing his kimono brand at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo since 2006, almost a decade before the eyebrow-raising appearance of X Japan frontman Yoshiki Hayashi’s Yoshikimono brand at the event last October. It’s true that Matohu, from design partnership Hiroyuki Horihata ...

Style & Design Mar 26, 2016

Tokyo fashion week: Womenswear's mixed messages

by Misha Janette

The 2016 fall/winter womenswear collections that were unveiled on the catwalk during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo offered a wealth of cozy clothing that will likely appear in stores later this year. As has been the case in recent seasons, the designs were as varied ...