Before "Japanese fashion" meant minimalist black, one designer was doing the exact opposite—explosive color, bold graphics and pure theater. Kansai Yamamoto was Japanese maximalism before the world had a word for it.
The first to show in London
Kansai Yamamoto (1944–2020) became the first Japanese designer to stage a fashion show in London, in 1971. His work fused traditional motifs—kabuki, samurai armor, Japanese typography—with sci-fi silhouettes and electric color, a sensibility he later staged as enormous "Super Shows" he called extravaganzas.
Dressing Ziggy Stardust
His most famous fan was David Bowie, who wore Kansai's designs as Ziggy Stardust and Aladdin Sane. The asymmetric knit bodysuit, the flared vinyl "Tokyo Pop" costume, the cape that spelled Bowie's name in kanji—these images fused glam rock and Japanese avant-garde for a global audience.
Why Harajuku still loves him
Kansai's belief that clothing should be joyful, loud and a little outrageous is basically the founding principle of Harajuku street fashion. You can trace his DNA in today's maximalist coordinates documented across Tokyo Fashion—proof that more is, sometimes, gloriously more.
