05 Apr Undeniably Iconic: Japan’s Top 10 Young Fashion Designers & Influencers Redefining Global Style

Designers & Digital Voices Leading the New Luxury

In Japan, fashion is a language—a rhythm of restraint and rebellion, heritage and hypermodernism. While the world still celebrates the genius of Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto, a new generation is speaking its truth in fabric, pixels, and street style. These ten trailblazers—designers and influencers alike—aren’t just participating in fashion’s future, they’re rewriting it. Young, fearless, and globally fluent, they embody Japan’s next wave of style innovation.

1. Takuya Morikawa

Textile Technician. Tailoring Alchemist.
Founder of the Tokyo-based label TAAKK and a former menswear designer at Issey Miyake, Takuya Morikawa is redefining fashion technology. Known for engineering fabrics that seamlessly transition between textures and colors, his pieces often look like optical illusions brought to life. TAAKK has been featured on the Paris Fashion Week schedule, where Morikawa debuted garments with transparent knits fused into structured wool. His designs are lauded for blending conceptual thinking with day-to-day wearability.

“I want clothes to evolve with the wearer.”

2. Risa Aibara

Architect of Sustainability.
Risa Aibara is part of the design team behind CFCL (Clothing for Contemporary Life), a tech-driven brand focused on minimalism, functionality, and environmental impact. Aibara works extensively with computer-programmed knitwear, creating garments that are entirely 3D-knit with zero waste. Her designs are soft but architectural, often in monochrome or pastel palettes. CFCL was selected for the LVMH Prize longlist, spotlighting her as one of Japan’s key sustainable voices.

Impact Tag: Futurewear made in Japan.

3. Kotohayokozawa

Deconstructed Emotion.
Kotoha Yokozawa graduated from Nagoya University of Arts and launched her label in 2015. Her approach is tactile and raw—garments appear torn, stitched by hand, and often feature scribbled text or paint splashes. She rejects perfection, embracing chaos and imperfection as artistic truth. Her clothes have been seen on stylists and experimental pop artists in Japan and overseas. Yokozawa has also collaborated with Japanese retail giant BEAMS, further expanding her cult following.

“My work is a diary stitched in cloth.”

4. Haruki Koketsu

Tailored Street Samurai.
Founder of MENS TOKYO, Haruki Koketsu is gaining recognition for his ability to translate traditional Japanese garments into contemporary streetwear silhouettes. His collections include tailored hakama trousers, obi-inspired belt details, and jackets with kimono sleeves in sleek urban palettes. Having debuted at Tokyo Fashion Week, Koketsu is quickly becoming a leading voice in redefining what modern Japanese menswear can look like.

Impact Tag: Tradition, reconstructed.

5. Daisuke Yagihashi

The Naturalist.
Daisuke Yagihashi is the founder of MAITO Design Works, a slow-fashion brand dedicated to natural dyeing processes. He uses only organic materials and collaborates with Japanese artisans to revive dyeing methods that date back centuries. His fabrics are dyed with madder, turmeric, and indigo, creating subtle, earthy tones that shift with light and wear. MAITO’s mission is deeply environmental, cultural, and spiritual.

Impact Tag: Ancient dye meets modern eye.

6. Naomi Watanabe (@watanabenaomi703)

Icon of Inclusion.
Naomi Watanabe exploded into the spotlight as a comedian but transformed into a global fashion icon. She has appeared in campaigns for Gucci and Moschino and was dubbed “The Japanese Beyoncé” after a viral parody. She moved to New York in 2021 to further her international career and has used her platform to challenge conventional beauty norms, especially in Japan. Naomi blends comedy with couture, becoming a symbol of joyful self-expression.

“I want people to smile just by looking at what I wear.”

7. Risa Nakamura (@risa_doll_)

Neo-Romantic Dreamer.
Model, designer, and creative director of Memnon, Risa Nakamura embodies the dreamlike aesthetic of neo-gothic and lolita styles. She brings high-fashion drama to subcultural looks through intricate lace, velvet, and corseted designs. Her beauty and fashion shoots often resemble fantasy illustrations. As one of the most recognizable alt-style figures in Asia, she has developed a devoted fanbase across Japan, China, and South Korea.

Impact Tag: Soft power, hard influence.

8. Shunsuke Okabe (@shunsukestyle)

Genderless Minimalist.
Shunsuke gained popularity on TikTok for his clean, monochrome styling, androgynous layering, and soft-spoken fashion musings. A former dancer, he approaches fashion as movement and sculpture. Now featured in DAZED Japan and collaborating with brands like Uniqlo U, he’s helping shift gender conversation in Japanese fashion toward inclusivity and freedom of expression.

“Fashion is the art of being seen—and unseen.”

9. Amiaya (@amiaya_official)

Dual Disruption.
Identical twins Ami and Aya Suzuki are DJs, brand directors, and style icons known for their hot-pink bobs and symmetrically outrageous outfits. Together they co-founded the brand Jouetie and have modeled for Fendi, Moschino, and Marc Jacobs. Their surrealist street-glam style—often seen front row at Paris Fashion Week—has made them global ambassadors of Harajuku fashion.

Impact Tag: Neon-synced fashion twins.

10. Kaito (@kaito_0215)

Harajuku’s New Classic.

 His signature look combines layered kimono-inspired jackets, utility belts, and oversized silhouettes. His styling feels organic, yet highly curated. He represents a quiet, conceptual evolution of traditional Japanese dress, seen through the lens of Gen Z.

Impact Tag: The future wears tradition.

These ten visionaries remind us that in Japan, fashion is not a trend—it’s a philosophy. With heritage in one hand and innovation in the other, they are stitching together a bold, borderless future. Their work is proof that the next icons of global style are already here.

And they’re undeniably Japanese.

Written and curated by Ozzie Small