Over the past 40 years Japanese designers have led the way in aligning fashion with art and
ideology as well as addressing identity and social politics through dress. They have
demonstrated that both creative and commercial enterprise is possible in today's international
fashion industry and have refused to compromise their ideals remaining autonomous and
independent in their design business affairs and distribution methods. The inspirational
Miyake Yamamoto and Kawakubo have gained worldwide respect and admiration and have influenced
a generation of designers and artists alike. Based on twelve years of research this book
provides a richly detailed and uniquely comprehensive view of the work of these three key
designers. It outlines their major contributions and the subsequent impact that their work has
had upon the next generation of fashion and textile designers around the world. Designers
discussed include: Issey Miyake Yohji Yamamoto Rei Kawakubo Naoki Takizawa Dai Fujiwara
Junya Watanabe Tao Kurihara Jun Takahashi Yoshiki Hishinuma Junichi Arai Reiko Sudo & the
Nuno Corporation Makiko Minagawa Hiroshi Matsushita Martin Margiela Ann Demeulemeester
Dries Van Noten Walter Van Beirendonck Dirk Bikkembergs Alexander McQueen Hussein Chalayan
and Helmut Lang.
