Japanese designers are redefining the concept of fashion. In 2012, Yoshikazu Yamagata held fashion shows without clothes. This was meant as a blow to the idea that the world revolves around a designer’s clothes and instead focus on a world that incidentally includes fashion. This marks a cultural shift that reflects that only a handful of people actually wear haute couture gowns that are currently regarded as real fashion. Isetan Shinjuku’s petite section is holding an event aimed at women 150 centimeters tall and below. The highlight of the Isetan line-up is a seven-way dress that can be styled seven different ways and acknowledges the differences in dressing the shorter woman’s body. Ikebukuro Seibu makes washable period-proof underwear. The intent is to change the view of menstruation and the use of disposable sanitary products.

Brands are increasingly relying on external creative forces to make something new. Artists are a welcome guest in the designer’s world. Michael Kors’ bags sport Masami Yanagida illustrations. With the fashion industry’s relentless use of collaborations to court attention, designers are being asked to bring someone else’s world to life rather than their own. Issues like inclusivity and social change have started to fall into the hands of brands with real consciences.