Japan makes the world’s greatest clothes. There are, of course, many fantastic labels we love that design and produce clothes elsewhere. But if you had to pick one country responsible for producing more Spyplane-certified slappers right now than any other, there’s no contest — it’s Japan in a landslide.
This has been true for a minute. For years, Mach 7+ Sauce Connoisseurs have appreciated the quiet ingenuity and extremes of craftsmanship that characterize the Japanese lines we’re talking about. But over the past few years, awareness of Japan’s excellence in garment-craft has ramped up to unprecedented levels among Cool Clothes Enthusiasts more generally. Now an ever-expanding array of great Japanese labels are commanding the interest and devotion of an ever-expanding, increasingly international cult.
What is going on?
The story is, partially, a happy one: More and more people want simple, ingeniously made clothes that they’ll be able to wear for years. And “simple and ingeniously made” is Japan’s specialty. From time-honored textile mills to experimental dye houses to artisan workshops and factories, there are tools, techniques and skills still preserved and practiced in Japan that have all but disappeared everywhere else. It’s no coincidence that some of earth’s best non-Japanese lines — among them California’s Evan Kinori, Germany’s Polyploid, Canada’s James Coward and Australia’s Man-tle — produce nearly all their clothes in Japan, using Japanese fabrics.
Other parts of the story are more ambivalent. The yen is weakened and, not unrelatedly, there’s an unprecedented economic pressure on Japanese makers to open themselves up to a global clientele, and push into the western market.
The upshot is that there are a bunch of great Japanese lines where, just a few years ago, if you wanted to buy their clothes, you needed to either buy a ticket to Haneda or use a proxy service — and now these lines have become easier to find outside Japan than ever, landing in more shops with every season.
It’s gotten to the point that you need a guide to keep up.
Today we’re dropping that guide.
Yes! We’re excited to introduce Blackbird Spyplane’s Definitive Guide to the Best Contemporary Japanese Clothing Lines Out — and where to find them beyond Japan’s borders.
Men’s lines, women’s lines, unisex lines: In this guide you’ll find a ton of excellent labels making great things across apparel, eyewear, shoes, socks, and bags.
This is a massively intel-rich companion to the beloved Spyplane Japan travel guides we’ve published for Tokyo, Kyoto, and Osaka, Naoshima and more.
Enjoy!
— Jonah & Erin
🏆 indicates a Spyplane-certified GOAT
⭐ indicates a label of particular Spyplane distinction
🔦 indicates a true deep cut
all makers are unisex except when a ♀️or ♂️ indicates otherwise
Let’s get to it —