City Boy -- The Comprehensive Analysis of Japanese Designer Brands for Menswear

EDWIN is an original designer brand born in Japan in 1961. The brand name is arranged with the English word DENIM, reflecting its passion and spirit of challenge towards tannin. Since its inception, EDWIN has never stopped exploring the Danning area. Whether it was the establishment of Something, a jeans brand specifically designed for women, in response to the rise of feminist consciousness in 1979, or the 503 basic jeans series created in 1998 using "liquid ammonia" to conform to the retro trend, or the Jiaji pants series created in 2013 to break the impression of Dunning's stuffy and lack of elasticity, they are all expressions of constantly keeping up with the trend and innovating.This quarter, EDWIN has returned to its original intention, using the most classic washing and cutting methods to create tannins, continuing its iconic silhouette and launching a series of classic items, paying tribute to the past while awakening people's memories of the essence of tannins.

Neighborhood is a Japanese street clothing brand founded by Shinsuke Takazawa in Harajuku, Tokyo in 1994. The brand originated from his interest in motorcycle culture, with American, workwear, military, music and other elements integrated into it, presenting a strong and retro style single product. Neighborhood is renowned for its excellent craftsmanship and design, with craft craftsmanship being its signature. Many classic styles such as motorcycle jackets, distressed jeans, and workwear shirts have been born, and have considerable influence both domestically and internationally. The Neighborhood of the 23/24 autumn and winter seasons still maintains a rugged and rugged American style, with many classic items to be seen. Although there have been some lifestyle changes in recent years, the pure charm of American casual can still be seen in it.

Japanese children's clothing with a simple and trendy style is highly popular in the development of autumn and winter seasons, not only because of its simplicity, comfort, and cuteness, but also because it aligns with the needs and values of modern families. It is not only a fashion choice for children, but also an attitude towards environmental protection and personal development. Whether it's studying, playing games, or daily life, Japanese trendy children's clothing accompanies children's happy growth, finding a balance between fashion and practicality. This report will comprehensively analyze popular Japanese designer brands and provide reference for the development of autumn and winter Japanese children's clothing brands.

The Maison Mihara Yasuhiro 23/24 Autumn/Winter collection is themed around the Imitation Complex, and in order to continue its conceptual imitative nature, it continues to develop with jackets and T-shirts printed with counterfeit money, as well as artificial leather painted to look like real, worn leather. What supports all of this is the brand's unique tailoring. The style still continues the classic Japanese retro collision structuralism. Denim jackets, cotton jackets, down jackets, deconstructed baseball jackets, and cotton faded coats are the key styles of this season's autumn and winter. They are practical to wear but also have a sense of design. The overall black gray color tone and waste soil color tone interpret Japanese fashion.

The Maharishi brand was founded by Hardy Blechman in London, UK in 1995, under the brand name Sanskrit, meaning 'Great Dreamer'. The brand is based on Hardy Blechman's love for environmental protection and camouflage, and incorporates the functionality, durability, and toughness of military uniforms into clothing design. The brand is known for its use of linen fabrics, natural fibers, organic cotton, and recyclable military clothing. After 2000, Maharishi began to transform, with strong Asian elements such as Chinese dragon totems, Japanese geisha, and language replacing the original focus on camouflage military details. At the same time, the brand's proud embroidery and high-end fabrics have also attracted rare joint branding opportunities such as G-SHOCK and Undefeated.

AURALEE is a minimalist and high-end Japanese designer brand founded by designer Ryota Lai in 2015. The brand name means the place where sunlight shines, derived from an ancient American folk song from the 19th century. The brand's design is also like the artistic conception of this name, adept at using soft natural colors, concise and sharp cutting silhouettes, and fabrics that move with the wind to create a calm and relaxed feeling in each style. Auralee designers never pursue trendy elements and emphasize practicality, which is a minimalist style that doesn't require too much thinking about dressing and can be easily worn out without making mistakes.

NEEDLES was founded by Keizo Shikizu, the renowned owner of the Japanese select shop NEPENTHES. NEPENTHES primarily sells men's clothing and also carries its own brand, NEPENTHES, as well as other international fashion brands such as SOUTH2 WEST8, NEEDLES, and ENGINEERED GAREMENTS. With over 20 years of experience in the fashion import trade, Mr. Shikizu utilized his extensive network of manufacturers and designers from around the world to develop the NEEDLES brand, which is a fusion of rich experience and diverse cultural influences. In 2007, the flagship store of NEEDLES was opened in Fukuoka, where Mr. Shikizu infused his extensive knowledge of menswear to create a unique and distinctive brand style.

According to the analysis of the top 100 women's cotton and down downloads by POP8-September user volume, the proportion of simple European and elegant style is relatively high, accounting for about 40%, followed by fashionable casual, sporty casual, and other styles. In terms of silhouette, loose-fitting styles are predominant, and lightweight down jackets, shiny down jackets, straight-fill down jackets, short bread jackets, reversible designs, and others have received more attention. In terms of craftsmanship details, heterogeneous splicing, irregular pattern stitching, and detachable designs are of particular interest. As for fabrics, special textured fabrics such as corduroy, knit fabrics, flannel, leather, and others have been given special attention.

ZUCCA is a clothing brand based in Japan. Among the well-known Japanese brands, it has a more "down-to-earth" design style. The founder and designer of ZUCCA is Akira Onozuka. The accessories of ZUCCA are as practical as their clothing, yet they remain in tune with current trends. These accessories include shoes, belts, handbags, scarves, glasses, and hats. In the 2023 Spring/Summer collection, ZUCCA continues to uphold its design philosophy by incorporating elements of Japanese art and literature, with a focus on creating clothing products that are suitable for everyday wear.

Beautiful People is a fashion brand founded by designer Hidenori Kumakiri in Japan in 2006, advocating "Everything is beautiful". The brand's products focus on comfort and pleasure, believing that beauty is never a simple and singular standard. They discover beauty from various aspects of daily life, providing customers with more choices in size, gender, pattern, and color, and offering unique beauty to each individual. Since 2017, the brand has successfully participated in Paris Fashion Week and has become one of its official schedules, attracting the attention of many well-known journalists and receiving recognition and coverage from many famous fashion media. In the spring/summer of 2023, Beautiful People collaborated with Japanese fast fashion brand GU to launch a beautiful people and GU joint series.

Graphpaper,the store that functions as an art gallery.
Takayuki Minami created Graphpaper in Aoyama district of Tokyo in February 2015. Inspired by Harald Szeemann, the independent curator who pioneered the metamorphosis of international art exhibitions, and his attitude “free from any regulation”. The space lines up all the works equally, not restrained by time or genres. On the wall of this symmetrical space, designed to show neutrally, the black canvas are installed golden ratio. By pulling back the canvas, the works will be revealed.

Yosuke Aizawa’s cult label White Mountaineering didn’t just present a Fall/Winter 2023 collection, it presented a collaboration collage. Inspired by the beauty of the mountains that the designer spent his time surrounded by during the pandemic, “After All” is a reflection of nature’s tones.