Japan’s fashion industry is enjoying a global moment. An influx of tourism into the country buoyed by the weak yen has coincided with a booming cultural interest in Japanese fashion. The country has produced three winners of the LVMH Prize in the past decade, and with the success of recent menswear exports like Auralee and Ssstein breaking through on the Paris schedule, more names are on the way.
But for the country’s emerging designers, harnessing that international interest has its fair share of obstacles. What does it take to build a global fashion business from Japan today? Five designers weigh in below. Vie
His eponymous brand trades in statement dresses and tailoring with unapologetic flounce, and in 2024 launched a menswear line. Worn by the likes of Lady Gaga, Bad Bunny, and Hudson Williams, Vin brand in Japan as a foreign designer definitely wasn’t the easiest route. I’d never worked for another fashion house before either, so I didn’t come with an established name or background that people immediately recognized
Japan is also a society where fitting
Japan is also a society where fitting in can be quite difficult, so being a foreign designer running an independent label naturally made me a bit of an outsider. Still, I approach things from a slightly different perspective, and I’ve always had a very international circle around me. So as the brand has become more international, that has definitely helped. Before taking our showroom to Paris, we felt needed to build more international awareness, so started working with a PR agency in LA.
Initially, we focused quite heavily on magazines and traditional fashion media, but the results were quite limited, so we decided to shift more of our attention toward celebrity dressing. And that really changed things for us. What I learned is that making good clothes is only one part of it. You also need the right people who understand the clothes and know how to communicate them.
And there is so much timing involved. The right piece, the right person and the right moment all have to somehow meet. When they do, it can be incredibly powerful. Celebrity dressing has driven a significant increase in international traffic to our online store, as well as more overseas orders. It’s encouraging to see that some of that visibility is already turning into real customer interest.
The next step is to expand our international
The next step is to expand our international wholesale accounts while also strengthening the direct-to-consumer business by making the shopping experience better and easier for international customers. Our sales are roughly 40% menswear and 60% womenswear, and I think the gap will continue to shrink. There is masculinity and strength in the menswear collection, but also softness and elements that might traditionally be considered feminine; I’m interested in the tension between those things rather than choosing one side.
We’re planning our first showroom in Paris next January during Men’s Fashion Week, presenting the menswear collection alongside part of our pre-womenswear collection. We will continue our work around A-list dressing and custom projects while beginning to build a stronger international wholesale network. Ideally, those things support each other: people discover Viviano through a great fashion moment, and then there is actually somewhere for them to experience or buy the clothes.”
Pillings
Designer: Ryota Murakami
Founded: 2020
Category: Women’s knitwear
Background: Originally establishing the brand under his own name in 2014, Ryota Murakami began by designing alongside his mother before he went solo and rebranded to Pillings in 2020.
Since then, the label has won a loyal fanbase in Japan and abroad for off-kilter knitwear, which includes the hand-knitted pieces recently picked up by influential stores including Dover Street Market and Andreas Murkudis. “Pillings was acquired by Little League, a subsidiary of The Sazaby League [which operates Ron Herman Japan] in 2024. When I was working independently, I was responsible for sales and business development as well as design.
Since joining Little League, however, we established sales
Since joining Little League, however, we established sales partnerships both in Japan and overseas, so our number of business partners has gradually increased with sales steadily growing. The way we approach the brand’s creative direction and manufacturing has not changed significantly; having a clear business strategy means I can focus more on the creative side. When it comes to hand-knits, there’s a limit to how many pieces we can produce in a single season.
Even if demand increases, we do not want to produce and sell large quantities of these special items simply to meet that demand. Rather than forcing an increase in production, it’s important to think about how we can continue this work sustainably, in a way that does not place an unreasonable burden on the people who make the knitwear. One of the main advantages for a brand here is that Japan has many excellent stores.
There is a deep understanding of fashion, and each store selects brands based on its own unique perspective. Even when I talk with designers of my generation overseas, I get the impression that many of them are interested in the Japanese market. When it comes to expanding our business overseas, I think the physical distance from Europe and the US is one of the disadvantages. Although we can travel for trade shows, not being able to communicate with local buyers and other industry contacts on a daily basis can sometimes be a challenge.
Our goal at the moment is strengthening
Our goal at the moment is strengthening the team. Rather than expanding the organization by hiring more people, I want to make each team member’s role clearer and create an environment where individual strengths and judgment can be fully utilized. As the brand continues to grow, my goal is to build a structure that allows us to do so as a team, rather than having everything revolve around me as an individual.”
Khoki
Designer: Collective
Founded: 2019
Category: Menswear
Background: Founded by designer Koki Abe but operated as a collective, Khoki’s seven members bring together a wealth of technical skills and experience honed at some of the most prominent labels in Japan.
With a focus on handicrafts such as quilting and embroidery, bold pattern work and a “fleamarket” sensibility, the brand was shortlisted for the LVMH Prize in 2024 and is fast building a cult following among the global menswear community. “I think Japan is an environment where independent brands like ours can relatively easily establish themselves as viable businesses. Younger generations are highly passionate about fashion and are willing to invest in pieces without being overly focused on price.
At the same time, I think that can also become a disadvantage. Because it is possible to grow a brand to a certain extent within the domestic market alone, brands can sometimes venture overseas without having a clear vision of who they are or why they want to expand internationally. There is also the language barrier, and overseas you need to rethink the way you communicate with people altogether.
Even looking at Japanese brands that have tried
Even looking at Japanese brands that have tried entering the Paris trade show circuit, quite a few often give up after just two or three seasons. We’re very fond of this idea of ‘fun consumption’, creating ways for people to engage with a brand that go beyond simply selling a piece of clothing and having someone buy it. Since we launched, we’ve traveled to different cities across Japan, working with local shop owners to create exclusive products and holding workshops where we make pouches with the customers.
Right now, we’re exploring ways to create a physical space for the brand. When it comes to wholesale, building strong, long-term relationships is more important than simply increasing the number of stockists. We’d also like to continue putting on runway shows, even if they’re not on a regular schedule. This is partly something we want to do for ourselves as a team. Most of us entered this industry because we dreamed of being part of the brands that put on runway shows.
We’re presenting our first runway show on September 4, 2027, as part of Rakuten’s byR project during Tokyo Fashion Week, so we’re currently focused on getting everything ready for that.”
Ancellm
Designer: Kazuya Yamachika
Founded: 2020
Category: Menswear
Background: Based in Okayama, Ancellm has access to some of the best factories in Japan, which facilitates an experimental approach to fading, texture, dyeing and washing.
The combination of its fabric knowhow and accessible
The combination of its fabric knowhow and accessible price point has allowed the brand to expand aggressively: it now has 90 stockists globally and opened its first flagship store in Tokyo’s Jingumae neighborhood earlier this year. “Being based in Okayama is essential to Ancellm. Okayama, especially areas such as Kojima, has a deep history of denim, washing, dyeing and garment production.
For us, being close to factories is not only about production efficiency, it allows us to experiment directly with craftspeople, make small adjustments, test new processes and respond to unexpected results. Sometimes, the most interesting expressions come from irregularities or small accidents during processing. Because we are close to the production site, we can react to those moments and turn them into part of the design.
Opening our first store in Tokyo has been very meaningful for us. We currently welcome around a thousand visitors per month, and are aiming for annual sales of around JPN 150 million ($945,000). What has been encouraging is that customers are visiting not only from Japan and Asia, but also from Europe and the US. We are also planning retail collaborations with a leading department store, while researching possibilities for future stores both in Japan and internationally.
Japan still has many factories and craftspeople
Japan still has many factories and craftspeople with highly specialized skills, which allows us to create products with a level of detail and sensitivity that is difficult to replace. There is also strong international interest in Japanese brands right now, especially those that have a clear identity and a close relationship with materials, craft and production. At the same time, production costs are rising, many factories are facing aging workforces, and the domestic market is not expanding easily.
Japan gives us a very strong creative and production base, but building a global business requires patience, precision and strong partnerships. We are working every day with the ambition of one day presenting at Paris Fashion Week. We do not want to grow too quickly if that means losing the depth of the product or the strength of the brand’s expression. Our goal is to build a sustainable global presence through strong retail partners, our own stores, and deeper direct relationships with customers around the world.”
Mukcyen
Designer: Yuka Kimura
Founded: 2023
Category: Womenswear
Background: Yuka Kimura launched her brand Mukcyen in 2023 under the ownership of Sohki Corporation, which also operates Tokyo menswear brand Masu.
A winner of the JFW Next Brand Award in 2026 and the Tokyo Fashion Award, Kimura’s background includes experience working in-house at Yohji Yamamoto, as well as a successful career as a fashion influencer. Mukcyen (pronounced muh-shan) is known for its neo-gothic aesthetic and skintight silhouettes. “Having a personal audience on social media has been incredibly valuable, it gives me a direct sense of how different forms of expression resonate across countries and cultures, which has also helped me understand the brand’s potential beyond Japan.
There are challenges when the distinction between me
At the same time, there are challenges when the distinction between me as an individual and Mukcyen as a brand becomes too blurred. Interest in me personally does not necessarily translate into a deeper understanding of the clothes or purchasing them. One of the greatest advantages of being in Japan is access to high-quality materials, sewing and manufacturing techniques, which allows us to pursue an extremely high level of detail in our product development.
At the same time, the domestic market has its limitations, and for a small brand, securing sufficient capital, talent and an international sales network is not easy. Wholesale currently accounts for the majority of our business, but we are also developing our direct-to-consumer business. At the brand’s current scale, however, it’s particularly important for customers to encounter the clothing physically through our retail partners, to touch the materials and experience the silhouettes and styling firsthand, so wholesale will remain a central part.
It is important for us to work with retailers who understand the philosophy behind the brand and can communicate it thoughtfully to their customers. Internationally, we want to create more opportunities to connect with influential retailers in individual markets, as well as select stores whose aesthetic sensibilities align naturally with ours. Our priority is to build meaningful, long-term relationships rather than simply expanding distribution.”
Answers have been edited for length and clarity.
Source: www.vogue.com
