Curator Valerie Steele's tours lead you through "Japan Fashion Now," a dramatic
mise-en-scène of approximately 100 ensembles that represent Japanese fashion in all
its radical creativity.
Japan Fashion Now explores how Japanese fashion has evolved in recent years.
Japanese fashion today embraces not only the cerebral, avant-garde looks associated
with the first wave of Japanese design in the 1980s, but also a range of subcultural
and youth-oriented styles, such as the Elegant Gothic Lolita style and the Cosplay
phenomenon. In addition, Japanese fashion often has a strong component of realism
and an obsessive interest in perfecting classic styles. Contemporary Japanese
fashion is significant globally precisely because it mixes elements of the
avant-garde (pushing the aesthetic envelope at the level of -high- art) and elements
of realism (such as high-tech fabrics or an obsession with the perfect pair of
jeans) with popular or subcultural elements, especially those associated with
electronic manifestations, such as animated cartoons and videogames.
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