Fashion is all about freedom and trends going arm in arm. And after the famous fashion hubs of Paris, Milan and New York, Tokyo is the next one to make your jaw drop. With its interesting and unusual fashion trends, Japan has the ability to make a noticeable influence on the fashion world without doing much.

When you hear Japan, the first thing to come to your mind would be the technical innovations and hubs. But that is not all that Japan has to offer. It is also quite famous for its quirky and fashionable attires on the streets and the runways of Japan. 

The modern fashion trends of Japan are mostly inspired by anime, traditional Japanese apparel and some modern trending features of the western countries as well. Here is all you need to know about the Japanese fashion trends 2022 to stay up to date on the ongoing fashion trends.

All About Japanese Fashion

  • Modern Japanese Fashion
    • Printed Patterns
    • Noisy Shirts
    • Gender-Neutral Style
    • Decora Kei
    • Modern Traditional Attires
  • Popular Japanese Fashion Trends
    • E-Girl Aesthetics
    • Metallics
    • Graphic Athleisure
    • Goth Grunge
    • Designer Face Masks
    • Camouflage Prints
    • Deconstructed Trench Coats
    • Conversation Shoes

Modern Japanese Fashion

Printed Patterns

When we talk about Japanese fashion trends 2022, the first thing to note is the prints that are on a flaming hype. Especially, the tiger print now that the Year of the Tiger is here, we can match the energy of the year too.

The majority of the attires can be seen combining the orange and black tones with other brighter shades like pink and green to get more accentuated prints. These colors give off a rather bold and edgy look to the apparel and make them appear more catchy as well.

Tiger Print

Noisy Shirts

One of the most Popular Japanese fashion trends are the noisy shirts and t-shirts that you can see the youth wearing as fashionable streetwears. The oversized shirt and t-shirts are all printed with loud images, graphics and texts.

This trend is one way of showing respect to the designers and artists while grabbing the attention on the street. The best way to style these oversized t-shirts is to pair them with high waist ripped denims or cargo jeans or joggers and boots or sneakers.

Gender-Neutral Style

Gender-neutral styles are now getting renowned and embraced all around the globe with many famous celebrities supporting them like Harry Styles and Jaden Smith. Gender-neutral styles include many garments like skirts, dresses and crop-tops that can be worn smoothly by any gender.

Many famous Japanese designers like Yohji Yamamoto have been working on producing such traditional as well as gender-neutral clothing. These clothes are apparently extremely popular Japanese fashion trends and can be seen all over the streets of Japan.

Japanese Fashion Trends - Gender Neutral

Decora Kei

Japan has its own cultures and styles of clothing and fashion. Decora Kei is one such Japanese fashion trend that is well-known from the mid-90s. Decora is the slang for decoration meaning excessive styling of clothes.

The ones who admire these cute Japanese fashion trends often wear loud rainbow hues, adorning accessories and using as many tactile materials on their clothes, shoes, and bags. The resurgence of the Decora style can be particularly sighted on the streets of Harajuku.

Japanese Fashion Trends - Decora Kei

Modern Traditional Attires

Japanese culture has deep roots and the younger generation seems to be embracing them quite well. The traditional Kimono has been well merged with various types of western fashion styles to get a different outfit.

Kimono is usually worn with rubber or wooden sandals with broad sashes called zori and tabi socks. But now you can see a blend of traditional and modern styles as the women parade the streets with Japanese attire and cute dresses in pastel colors.

E-Girl Aesthetics

The E-Girl aesthetics refer to the girls who are gamers, streamers or the ones who spend most of their time online. You might have come across these Japanese girl fashion trends if you have been following internet trends nowadays.

The E-girl fashion was an amalgamation of goth, soft grunge, emo and Lolita and Kawaii styles altogether when it first emerged in the 2000s. But recently, these Japanese female fashion trends have also taken inspiration from rave, K-pop, J-pop and anime as well.

Metallics

Along with the E-girl aesthetics comes the retro-futuristic trend of the 80s as well. This not only includes the apparels but also the accessories made of metallic or shiny materials. You can view all sorts of shiny statement pieces all over the streets of Japan effortlessly.

The metallic attire can be assembled with a pair of holographic boots or platform shoes, reflective parka or even shiny shorts or tops to match. You can go with bright shades like fluorescent ones or pastels to complement these statement styles. You can also opt for the ever-classic black if you are not confident with other colors.

Japanese Fashion Trends - Metallic

Graphic Athleisure

Athleisure is anyways popular for the comfort and freedom that it has to offer. But it has always been a trendy piece of clothing within the locals of Japan. The athleisure fashion is taken up a notch by the designers this 2022 with their creativity.

The athleisure apparel are mainly joggers, bottoms, track pants, runners, etc. You can pair these graphical pieces with brightly colored clothes and tops and even statement accessories. You can also wear them with trench coats or jackets and flatform boots to get a bit of a sophisticated look.

Also Read: Sweat Out In Style With The Right Gym Gear

Goth Grunge

Grunge used to be an extremely popular trend back in the late 80s. But the Japanese grunge used to be a bit different from those of other countries. The fashion, even though it didn’t die out, has been revived and renewed by the designers of Japan in 2022.

The goth grunge outfits are used to deliver powerful visual effects and messages through the apparels. The clothes are usually inspired by fairy grunge clothing as a contrast to the goth and the fairy-core style of fashion. There are also sub-categories of goth that have different styles of their own.

Designer Face Masks

This is one of those cute Japanese fashion trends that anyone can adopt. Even before COVID-19, Japanese were used to wearing face masks in public. For a country like Japan where they are collectives, wearing face masks is one of the ways to keep others safe and protect them. 

However, this is nothing to stop them from showing off their personal styles and arts making the masks into a piece of fashion statement. The face masks are altered with unique colors, logos and cutouts giving the user a different aesthetic to match the outfit.

Designer Face Mask

Camouflage Prints

This Japanese latest fashion trend is quite a craze all over the world and so is in Japan. Infatuated with the prints, you can view these striking camouflage prints on the streets of Japan too now. 

The catch here? The prints this time are all in unusual color combinations and on all types of clothes like skirts, knee-high boots and even trench coats. This gives a new tangent to our regular camouflage prints and also gives a more interesting look to the attire.

Deconstructed Trench Coats

Trench coats are ever-classic and timeless needless to be said. But Japanese fashion trends take them to new heights with their mind-blowing idea of reconstructing them with different materials and colors.

The designers of Japan reinvent this garment by making changes to the necklines, shoulders, buckles, collars, flaps, and any other element possible. The alterations leave us in awe with the results of how mesmerizing they turn out to be. This is one of the ‘must-try’ trends of the year if you are a fashionista!

Read More: Stylish Outfit Inspirations You Should Try

Conversation Shoes

Conversation boots are the ever-green Japanese fashion trends with Camel shoes being the core fashion statements. Camel shoes were first introduced in the 15th century but got famous when the designer Maison Margiela put forward this design of Tabi boots.

Japanese people absolutely love this fashion piece and it is a common sight on the streets of Harajuku. Other than Tabi shoes, leather platform boots, sneakers and square toe boots are also trendy conversation footwear in Japan. Wanting to know what all styles are trending these days? We got you covered, Trending Shoes For Women 2022.

Final Words

Japanese fashion is all about freedom and going bold with the mixtures, patterns and colors. The youths on the streets and the models on the runways both have their own expressions of fashion and trends. 

The Japanese fashion trends of streetwear set an explicit example of freshness and innovations. You can go bold following the above fashion trends and making your own as well. Because after all style is all about being yourself and keeping up with the trends alongside, isn’t it?

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is Japanese fashion so popular?

Japanese fashion became very popular owing to its unique heritage and amazing culture. One of the most prominent reasons is their influence over the youth with their amazing anime characters. Which makes their outfits and fashion loved around the world amongst the young generation.

What is modern Japanese fashion?

As you know western clothing has an influence over the world, it has an influence on Japanese fashion as well. A mixture of Japanese Traditional fashion and western fashion is known as modern Japanese fashion. 
Many people love and prefer to stick to traditional Japanese clothes, while most have accepted Western Fashion trends. Some people prefer the mixture of both dressing styles, for instance, wearing a kimono with western-style sandals and hairstyles.

What is the Japanese style called?

The Japanese traditional clothes are called kimonos which is a very popular style among the younger generation nowadays. The word ‘kimono’ literally means ‘thing to wear. 
The piece of clothing looks beautiful while being versatile and elegant at the same time. As of recent, there have been many designers who have merged this traditional style with modern fashion trends to give a different look to the outfit.

Which brand is popular in Japan?

Some extremely popular fashion brands that you can keep your eyes on in Japan are A Bathing Ape or well-known as BAPE, and wander, COMME des GARÇONS, Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe, NEIGHBORHOOD, Sacai, Undercover, visvim, and Uniqlo. All these brands have their own unique style and features that you can try as per your own personal style and comfort.