Yesterday the BBC reported a new tiny dinosaur species had been identified from fossilised remains, measuring 4 inches in height. Go science! Meanwhile in parallel Tokyo fashion world the young label Tiny Dinosaur unearthed their SS10 collection ‘dreamtime’ in a somewhat tiny space just off Omotesando. We were invited to peer into a temporary bedroom setting where we saw some beautiful tailoring, shirts-turn-skirts, and boots with toes [read more]

Notes from day 2 of Japan Fashion Week: as the Japanese turn their backs on the frenzied consumption of handbags that require mortgages, it’s exciting to see a new generation of designers for whom the aspiration of luxury is irrelevant [read more]

For his AW09 collection Elizabeth or Spain, Dress 33 designer Toshikazu Iwaya used elements from Elizabethan England (remembered as the Golden Age of England, 1558–1603) and the height of the Spanish Empire (Spain’s so-called Golden Age, 1521–1643). [read more]

With their mind-boggling tailoring and cute cute cuteness, designer Eri Utsugi’s clothes are surprisingly laidback and wearable when they’re off the runway (basketball-sized fur mittens optional of course) [read more]

Nagi Noda’s death on September 7 2008 robbed the world of an unbridled imagination that fed on surrealist pop and hilarious, super-kawaii fantasy. Lest we forget. Not that we could even if we wanted to: everything she touched became infused with her idiosyncratic, candy-coloured exuberance, leaving a vivid impression on all who were exposed to her work.

A film director, graphic designer, toy maker, art director and fashion designer, Nagi was born in Tokyo and spent 5 years in New York before returning to Japan in ‘87. She worked as a multi-disciplinary new media artist for various projects and exhibitions; created ad campaigns for clients including the La Foret department store in Harajuku, Nike and Coca Cola; started a fashion label with artist Mark Ryden, and made countless music videos for the likes of Cut/Copy, Scissor Sisters and Japanese pop star Yuki [read more]

So we haven’t done a rap about our love for Rei Kawakobu but that doesn’t mean there’s not an abundance of love (and rapping skills) here. Not only has she revoutionised fashion with her eccentric and uncompromising vision, she’s nurtured a whole new generation of designers under her mummy wings. Another Kawakobu protégé, Nozomi Ishiguro worked as a design assistant for Junya Watanabe at Comme des Garçons for 12 years before forming his own label in 1998. The simple philosophy behind Nozomi Ishiguro Haute Couture is “there is no such thing as going too far” and his designs are always reaching new heights of vivid exuberance and hilarity. Do I feel a rap coming on? [read more]

“But you are still thinking in terms of a life with a real face. The mask does not deceive and is not deceived. How about putting on a new mask, turning over a new leaf, and starting another life?”

(Kobo Abe, The Face of Another)

A look back at a look book from 2006, marking the first collection from Fugahum; a fashion label which frequently crosses over into the realms of  visual art and  instillation.

After 6 years as a designer with Yohji Yamamoto, Asuka Yamamoto formed Fugahum with Akiyoshi Mishima, an artist, art director, graphic designer, film director and VJ. Their work together is based on the notion of a fictional nation named ‘Fugahum’, and their aesthetic nestles somehwere at the boarders of street and fantasy; gothic and futuristic; macarbe and beautiful [read more]

Risa Nakazawa works as an artist coordinator and marketing manager for GAS Japan. As a company, GAS does so many things that we feel slightly dizzy writing them down. Through the GASBOOKS publishing arm, CALM & PUNK GALLERY and 20,000,000 fragments (20MF) fashion label, GAS provides a platform for artists all over the world to showcase their work to a wider audience. Recently, GAS also started workshops that connect kids with artists to hopefully “make world little bit happier with the creative mind-set”. Risa took time out to chat briefly with us about the latest GAS projects [read more]

Created by Taku Satoh Design Office, this campaign for Issey Mikaye’s latest Pleats Please collection is giving us hungry eyes [read more]

Get your geometry sets out: function follows form in these sculptural garments by Anrealage. With utter disregard for the contours of the human body, designer Kunihiko Morinaga has based his last few seasons on the most elemental of shapes: spheres, cubes and pyramids [read more]