T-shirts you can see from space: Japan fashion trends, spring/summer 2018
Every season brings new fashion ideas and trend items. Japan, which is world famous for having 4 distinct seasons, changes clothes… like they’re going out of fashion.
We’re gonna break some of these 2018 spring/summer trends down into women’s and men’s, because pretty every Japanese fashion mag does. But go ahead and wear whatever the hell you like.
(All our pics are via Fashion Press, one of our regular news sources.)
This season’s trends aren’t all that seasonal
The most interesting rumour we’ve heard is that spring/summer 2018 collections are designed to last all year. Leave those spring pieces in rotation, to mix and match with autumn/winter items depending on the weather.
A bigger silhouette (both!)
Wait, wait wait. What? After years – decades – telling us to be skinny or else, the fashion industry’s decided now’s the time to look huge and feel fabulous. Hey, nobody’s gonna mention your (non-existent, unrealistic) thigh gap if they can’t see it.
This trend means generally oversized clothes for men, and balloon skirts and draped tops for women. Go up a size from normal if you think it’d add to the effect. It’s okay for your clothes to look too long in the arms and legs, but try not to trip over them.
Floral and botanical prints (women’s)
Okay, what’s the difference between floral and botanical? Time for our ‘we’re not horticulturalists but…’ moment. Floral prints are flowery, duh. Botanicals look more leafy, with plants like fruits, herbs, and grasses.
Prints are the easy, less block-y way to wear several colours. Get the look right, and your outfit should hold all the freshness of spring. That doesn’t mean you can get away with never washing it, though.
Set up and relax (men’s)
Take the stress out of pairing tops with trousers – buy them both at the same time. No shame in pointing at the mannequin and saying “I’ll take it.” Unless they give you the mannequin, and you have to tuck it under your arm and leave the store. Awkward.
This look’s way more casual than a 2-piece suit. Japan’s finally started using the word ‘athleisure’ (in katakana).
Tops with massive logo-style designs (women’s)
We worked out the sizing here, so you don’t have to. If someone standing a mile away can’t read your chest without glasses or a telescope, the design’s not massive enough.
What you’re looking for is English (alphabet) print with impact. Not Impact, the font. Wanna look like a walking meme? Didn’t think so.
Try tucking your top into a pair of on-trend blue-grey or green-grey trousers. To be honest, anything that draws more attention to your waist adds to the spring trend. Ribbon-tie skirts, funky belts, high-waisted denim, whatever.
Sneakers (men’s)
At first, we laughed. Then we remembered how many guys we’ve seen strutting around in dressier, smarter shoes for a while now. Sneakers are due their proper comeback.
New Balance is super popular in Japan – not a Japanese brand, but has done some exclusive collabs here. For a pair of home-grown sneaks, there’s always Mizuno.
Purple, yellow, deep blue, and green (women’s)
Not all together in the same outfit, unless you’re brave. Rolling with the colourful ‘African print’ trend some fashion sites are predicting would make you the bravest person we know. Stick to 2 at a time.
The trendy shades to go for: lavender, sunshine/canary yellow, and kelly green. The ‘deep’ blue‘s meant to be like the ocean. Brands like Candy Stripper and Snidel have all these colours in their spring/summer looks.
White, pink, and ash/smoke grey (men’s)
The other 2 are kinda obvious colours, but when we say ‘pink’, we mean ‘rose quartz’. Or we will do. This trend hadn’t taken off when we wrote this – search for ‘light pink’ to get the right results.
How come ‘masculine pastel’ isn’t a bigger fashion trend? In these lookbook pics from (another American brand with Japan street cred) Undefeated, the models aren’t even looking us in the eye…
Vertical stripes (both)
For women, we’re talking 3 or 4 stripes per piece of clothing, down the sides not the front. Looks like Adidas is a great choice for this season. Men: go nuts. Wear as many stripes as you can fit on your body. But hey ladies, there are exceptions! Buck this trend with super stripy clothes from alice + olivia or Pameo Pose.
Wearing vertical stripes makes you look taller. So people say. Fashion models are tall enough, we can’t tell any difference.
Stay in Japan style all the time
Ways to shop for new and second-hand Japanese fashions on DEJAPAN:
- search our website for items on Amazon Japan, Rakuten, and Yahoo! Shopping
- check the latest listings and bid on Yahoo! Auctions Japan
- send us an item request using product URLs from Japanese fashion websites
