In the early 1980s, in the field of Paris fashion, Rei Kawakubo and Yohji Yamamoto began to attract attention as central figures. While adopting an anti-couture position, they also established a distinctive position as “Japanese” designers by incorporating elements of traditional Japanese aesthetics and clothing.

Looking back, Japanese designers who gained recognition in Paris all incorporated some form of “Japaneseness” into their work. Hanae Mori, for instance, expressed a sense of exoticism through her garments by adding traditional Japanese motifs such as flowers and butterflies to elegant and modern dresses. She also focused on silk textiles, a material with a long tradition in Japan, and preferred to use Japanese silk to enhance the luxurious and exotic quality of her designs. Reflecting on her first overseas collection in 1965, Mori stated that she believed it was necessary to express her uniqueness as a Japanese designer in order to compete in the international market. Her attempt to find ways of expressing Japanese sensibility through colour, form, and material became a shared challenge among Japanese designers working in Paris.

Kenzo Takada and Issey Miyake turned their attention to the craft traditions of Japanese culture and drew inspiration from more everyday elements. Kenzo preferred to use cotton, a material traditionally used in rural Japan, and was inspired by the clothing of farmers and workers, popularising colourful layered styles in the West. Miyake also focused on traditional Japanese textiles such as sashiko, oniyoryu (crinkled fabrics), and shijiraori (seersucker), revitalising them through modern mechanical techniques. Moreover, both designers paid close attention not only to textile patterns but also to the form and structure of the kimono. Unlike Western clothing, which is designed to fit closely to the body, the kimono is constructed through flat patterns and straight cuts, creating space between the body and the garment. Kenzo and Miyake reinterpreted these characteristics, developing loose, oversized silhouettes and incorporating the flat construction of the kimono into contemporary fashion.

Kawakubo and Yamamoto, on the other hand, presented designs that extensively used black and appeared as if the fabric had been torn apart. In particular, Kawakubo’s asymmetrical sweater with holes, presented in 1982, evoked a Japanese aesthetic that embraces imperfection and imbalance. Such works stood in direct opposition to Western ideals of beauty, which had long emphasised harmony, completion, and decoration. Therefore, their designs not only continued the anti-couture movement but also represented an expression that could only be articulated by designers with a distinct cultural background such as Japan.

Pierre Bourdieu argues that newcomers in the field of cultural production must clearly demonstrate their difference from those in dominant positions in order to gain recognition. For designers from outside France, particularly from non-Western countries, incorporating elements of their own culture into their work functioned as an effective means of creating such distinction.

Bourdieu’s analysis of the fashion field primarily focused on French couturiers active in the 1960s, such as André Courrèges and Emanuel Ungaro, and did not sufficiently address how designers from other countries occupy positions within the field. If we apply his insights to the Paris fashion field of the 1980s, when Kawakubo and Yamamoto entered, it can be argued that the structure of the field was no longer defined solely by class relations within France, such as those between the old and new bourgeoisie. Rather, geopolitical oppositions—between France and other countries, or between the West and the non-West—became increasingly pronounced. Positioned on the side of non-France or the non-West, Kawakubo and Yamamoto challenged French designers who sought to preserve the refined traditions of Paris fashion by advancing an aesthetic strategy that emphasised imperfection and anti-decoration.

Thus, in the 1980s, the structure of the Paris fashion field underwent a transformation. It was no longer merely a competition among French designers, but increasingly characterised by tensions between France and other nations, and between the West and the non-West. Within this new structure, Kawakubo and Yamamoto strategically utilised their position as Japanese designers to challenge the established traditions of Paris fashion.