For years, fashion designers across the world have looked to Japan for inspiration. Louis Vuitton famously collaborated with contemporary Japanese artists including Takashi Murakami and Yahoo Kusama, and Kim Jones tapped Hajime Sorayama to lend his imagery for a Dior men’s collection. But the inspiration and collaborations don’t end with art; they also include popular anime and manga characters.
Since the start of the year, anime collaborations with Western luxury brands have been one of the biggest trends in international fashion. Loewe incorporated imagery from the iconic Studio Ghibli film My Neighbor Totoro in select styles of its beautifully crafted leather bags. And most recently, Gucci launched a full collection of apparel and accessories with the lovable robotic cat from the future, Doraemon. Timed to coincide with Lunar New Year, the capsule collection saw immediate popularity, with some items selling out almost instantly.
The latest fun fashion collaboration to enjoy involves not an anime or manga character, but a video game universe that is known worldwide. Levi’s has announced that it has teamed up with Pokemon on a series of denim jeans, t-shirts, jackets and more for both men and women.
The trend of Western brands looking to Japanese pop culture for inspiration shows no signs of slowing down. What brands would you like to see working together next?
