Image via Complex Original
It's not a secret that Japan has influenced (and been influenced by) fashion trends over here in the States. With decades of mutually shared history and cultural appreciation, Japan's greatest designers have unsurprisingly left their mark on American fashion (and we're not talking about white dudes wearing kimonos they bought in Chinatown).
From the perfect reproduction of classic shapes, silhouettes, and designs to innovating new fabrics or remixing old-school clothing, the Japanese have not only helped to preserve American culture abroad, but have also made it better today than it ever was. The impact of the Japanese on contemporary mens fashion is nearly impossible to state completely, but these are 10 Dope Trends Japan Is Responsible For.
Rebirth of Americana
Japan's love of Americana dates back to the middle of the 20th century. When Americans were moving past the brands and clothing of their fathers as they settled into suburbia, abroad the Japanese were taking notice of the craftsmanship that workwear brands imbedded into their products and sought to recreate that quality. When heritage Americana re-emerged in the early 2010s, it was in part to the years of groundwork laid by Japanese labels like visvim, Engineered Garments, Big John, Edwin, and The Flat Head—brands that created a thriving lineage of quality and crafstmanship that not only replicated the American brands of the early 20th century, but carried them into the present day.
Socks With Sandals
Some consider it to be a terrible trend while others simply trace the look back to European tourists, but socks with sandals certainly has history within Japan. Tabi, partitioned socks, were worn with geta thong sandals. In this iteration, the tabi is most like a sock and incorporated with traditional dress. Jika-tabi are an improvement on traditional tabi socks, with a thicker construction and rubber soles; tabi are socks, jika-tabi are like knit boots. Construction workers and heavy laborers often prefer the style in Japan due to its ability to provide a more natural traction on the ground. In a way (as a very distant relative), is this not like Nike's Flyknit technology? A knit (sock-like) upper to create a comfortable and pliable shoe for the wearer, with a practical rubber sole to allow the user to work—whether they're walking along steel beams or running track.
Drapey Layers
Kimonos are synonymous with Japanese dress. While women's kimonos vary from simple and practical to extravagant and ceremonial, men's to be much simpler. While the design is usually around five pieces, the aesthetic is not far removed from the dark drapey layers of today's modern dress. Men's kimonos are often dark in color, opting for indigos, greens, and black. The outermost coat, the Haori, in itself is like a waist-length outermost coat with drapey sleeves. The Hakama is a divided skirt that is traditionally for men—looking like a long skirt, but operating like pants. Darkly-dyed clothing? Draped sleeves and long coats? Men in skirts? It's easy to see the influence Japan has not only on the street goth movement, but modern men's fashion as a whole.
Boro Denim
Only the Japanese could make something that literally translates to “tattered rags” so upscale and luxurious. Boro denim is really just a patchwork technique, with the practice and style taking root as an economic necessity—and becoming a visual description of the individual or family's lifestyle. It easy to recognize something that has been mended in this style; usually in indigo, multiple patches and fabrics of the same color or hue are woven together, creating a garment that looks old and patched together, but beautifully handcrafted at the same time. Labels like Engineered Garments, visvim, and Kapital have made products using the traditional mending method, a choice that has created garments that look lovingly worn even when purchased brand new.
The “Eccentric Mountainman”
Perhaps Mt. Fuji is home to a different kind of hippie. The niche of mountain gear-meets-bohemian design is something a few Japanese brands have staked their claim in. Stores like Aldies and brands like AXS Folk Technology and Rocky Mountain Featherbed combine psychedelic prints and colors with the technical aspects of mountaineering. If you were to exclusively wear clothes in this style, you'd look like a hippie who has isolated himself in a mountain hermitage. Not a bad look by any stretch, and one that's a lot cooler than it may seem.
Bright Graphic Streetwear
To put it bluntly, in the mid-2000's BAPE defined streetwear. Much of the loud, brightly colored, graphic style poured into the global streetwear market (channeled through Pharrell), with that specific style ultimately finding a place stateside with Billionaire Boys Club. When streetwear took a tailored, toned-down, and ultimately "classically American" approach to both color and shape (something the Japanese would also prove to excel at), this aesthetic fell out. However, you can still see BAPE and its subsidiaries on the backs of guys from all levels of “streetwear fandom,” from NYC to Tokyo. Kanye's often mentioned, never-released streetwear line, Pastelle, is clearly derived from the style of Nigo and the groundwork of BAPE.
Appreciation of Ivy League Style and “Take Ivy”
Teruyoshi Hayashida's love letter to the preppy, cultured style of Ivy Leaguers in the '60s is one of not only Japan's landmark achievements, but a globally recognized tome and time capsule for an era and section of society that is much harder to find. Created out of Japan's love of American culture in the mid-20th century, Take Ivy was Hayashida and his fellow authors' way of idolizing, but also subscribing to a look that was distinctly American—you could not completely transport the “American Ivy League” to Japan. That said, the love that Hayashida and company put into the work not only spread the “Ivy look” throughout Japan, Take Ivy sustained it by creating a subculture centered around the style that would carry into the early 2010s. Stores like United Arrows have maintained that tradition well into the 21st century, with appearances at Pitti Uomo rivaling that of the most “sprezzy” Italians.
Tech Running Gear
You could argue that this is more of a product of the United States. But considering Japan's love of technical material, including fabrics, you could also make an argument that this trend links back to the Land of the Rising Sun. Nike's collaboration with UNDERCOVER's Jun Takahashi sprouted Gyakusou in 2010, easily one of the most recognizable tech/conceptual running gear labels in the modern market, and certainly one of the forerunners to an increasingly crowded scene. You could also add the adidas and Yohji Yamamoto collaboration, Y-3 to this lineup. Japan may not have been first, but their input and innovation in the market is certainly worth noting when considering the current tech running trend.
Selvedge Denim
Selvedge is something that Japan has impacted so much deserves its own spotlight. It could be said that Japan's interest in selvedge denim is tied to its love of classic Americana, and selvedge denim is a classic part of early to mid 20th century American life. However, where the Japanese excelled is all in the details. From buying archival shuttle looms, to perfect indigo hand-dyeing techniques. Samurai Jeans, Edwin, Momotaro, and even Uniqlo are a few examples of Japan's interest and excellence in the craft of creating quality denim.
Archival Reproduction
Military gear has a well-established home base in Japan. When the Japanese experienced U.S. military up close and personal during the islands' occupation following WWII, a subset of the population became deeply interested in the qualities and techniques involved in producing those particular garments. Essentially this is the genesis of the Americana era within Japan itself. However, while many brands have focused on creating workwear and denim inspired by American clothing in the '30s, '40s, '50s, and '60s, there's another subset of brands that are focused on literally recreating those garments—flaws and all—for the consumer today. Whether its finding clothing patterns deep in military archives or intentionally adding errors in the sewing that would replicate how an in-era machine would perform during garment construction. Buzz Ricksons, and The Real McCoy's are just two labels that embody this production method, with a particular emphasis on not redesigning, but literally reviving retired garments.