Until the latter half of the twentieth century, the institution that guaranteed legitimacy in the Paris fashion world was haute couture. Highly sophisticated tailoring techniques, silhouettes closely fitted to the body, and the elegance supported by an upper-class clientele defined the standard of what was considered “good fashion.” For many designers, success meant adhering to this established order.

However, many of the Japanese designers who entered Paris from the 1970s onward did not choose the path of assimilating into this value system. Rather than refining the norms of couture, they positioned themselves in a way that shifted its very premises. Experiments with inexpensive materials, designs closer to everyday clothing, garments that did not emphasize the lines of the body, and references to ethnic dress or street culture all appeared, from the perspective of couture aesthetics at the time, as clear deviations.

What is important is that these differences were not the result of technical deficiency or marginality. Instead, they represented a strategic position that distanced itself from the dominant values of couture and emphasized differences from existing aesthetic norms. As sociologist Pierre Bourdieu has pointed out, within a cultural “field,” newcomers sometimes establish their position not by imitating existing norms but by articulating differences that challenge them. The position occupied by these Japanese designers can thus be described as one of “anti-couture.”

Bourdieu explains such phenomena as a “strategy of newcomers” within the cultural field. Competing according to the same norms as already dominant actors is not necessarily advantageous for those who newly enter the field. Newcomers therefore often highlight aesthetic elements such as youth, innovation, and futurity, thereby emphasizing difference rather than accepting the existing value system as it is. In some cases, they intervene in the dynamics of the fashion field by even reversing the hierarchy of established values. The position of anti-couture can be understood as one example of such a strategy.

When considering the entry of Japanese designers into Paris, the figure who must first be mentioned is Hanae Mori. In 1977, Mori was welcomed as an official member of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, becoming the first Japanese designer to enter the institutional center of couture. Her work, characterized by refined tailoring techniques and elegant decorative qualities, was supported by an upper-class clientele. While Mori’s creations did not fundamentally contradict the value system shared by Parisian couturiers, her success also represented a typical example of how non-Western designers could obtain legitimacy in Paris. In other words, it involved adapting to the existing aesthetic norms and institutional framework and gaining recognition from within them. High-level craftsmanship, elegance, and continuity with the traditions cultivated by couture were the conditions for being recognized as legitimate fashion.

The Japanese designers who appeared afterward, however, did not necessarily follow this path. While Hanae Mori entered the institutional center of couture, Kenzo Takada and Issey Miyake, who emerged in Paris during the 1970s, emphasized difference while positioning themselves on its periphery. When Takada presented his first collection in Paris in 1970, he did not possess significant financial resources. Using inexpensive fabrics and presenting colorful garments inspired by hippie style and youth culture, his designs clearly diverged from the luxurious materials and artisanal authority traditionally valued by couture. Yet it was precisely this “lightness” and sense of everydayness that came to be appreciated in the Paris fashion world as an alternative to established couture values.

Issey Miyake likewise introduced a different perspective when he began presenting collections in Paris in 1973. Using materials such as cotton and quilting, he proposed casual garments that evoked T-shirts and jeans. Whereas couture had traditionally aimed to adorn the body according to an idealized form, Miyake’s clothing questioned the relationship between body and garment itself. Layering, draping, and enveloping structures presented clothing not as a fixed form but as something that changes through movement and everyday life.

At this time, the order centered on haute couture in the Paris fashion world had already begun to shift, and prêt-à-porter (ready-to-wear) was emerging as a new arena of competition. Designers such as Yves Saint Laurent and Sonia Rykiel challenged the dominant styles established by figures such as Christian Dior and Pierre Balmain. Instead of emphasizing elegance for the upper classes, they referenced youth, freedom, and street culture. The position occupied by Takada and Miyake corresponded precisely to this disruptive moment within the fashion field.

Seen from this perspective, the emergence of Japanese designers can be understood not simply as the rise of a new design trend but as a reconfiguration of power relations within the fashion field. Moreover, their activities in Paris did not follow a single path. Hanae Mori entered the institutional center of couture, while Kenzo Takada and Issey Miyake presented a new form of everydayness within the realm of prêt-à-porter. Each of them thus engaged with the Parisian fashion field from different positions. In the next episode, we will examine how Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto challenged the established order of fashion with an unprecedented intensity, occupying what could be described as the position of “anti-couture".

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