Japanese Streetwear Brands Worth Knowing, and Where to Start

The Japanese streetwear brands worth knowing are the ones that make things properly: Kapital, Needles, visvim, Neighborhood, Sassafras, Kaptain Sunshine, Auralee, nanamica, FDMTL, Porter (Yoshida & Co), Master-Piece, Junya Watanabe MAN, Comme des Garçons Homme and Hender Scheme. What links them is not one look but one habit: taking American workwear, military and outdoor clothing, or Western subcultures, and remaking them with Japanese fabrics and Japanese factories. Below is what each is known for and the piece to start with.

What makes Japanese streetwear different

Japanese labels tend to own their supply chain more than Western streetwear brands do. Many develop their own fabrics with mills, sew in Japan, and keep making the same core pieces for years rather than chasing a new logo every season. That is why a pair of Needles track pants or a Porter Tanker bag looks much the same as it did a decade ago, and why they hold their value.

Sizing is the other thing to know. Most Japanese brands use numbered sizes (1, 2, 3 and so on) or run a size smaller than European and American labels. Always read the shop's measurements against something you already own.

The best Japanese clothing brands for men

Kapital

Founded in Kojima, Okayama, the town that calls itself the home of Japanese jeans, Kapital started as a denim factory and became the most imaginative label in Japan. Expect boro patchwork, sashiko stitching, bandana prints and the four-eyed smiley. Start with a bandana or a pair of socks to get the look cheaply, or Century Denim if you want the real thing. We cover the brand in depth in is Kapital worth it.

Needles

Keizo Shimizu, who founded the Nepenthes retail group, launched Needles in the 1990s. It is best known for velour and poly-smooth track pants with a side stripe and the embroidered butterfly ("papillon") on the thigh, plus Rebuild by Needles, shirts and flannels cut into strips and sewn back together. Start with the track pants; our Needles track pants guide explains the cuts.

visvim

Hiroki Nakamura started visvim in 2000 and built it on footwear, especially the FBT, a moccasin with a sneaker sole. Today it is a full collection of natural-dyed, hand-finished clothing at the top of the price range. Start with a tee or a pair of socks; save the FBT for when you know your size.

Neighborhood

Shinsuke Takizawa founded Neighborhood in Harajuku in 1994, drawing on motorcycle culture, military kit and American outdoor clothing. It is darker and harder-edged than most labels here: leather riding jackets, denim and heavy graphic tees. Start with a graphic tee or a jacket.

Sassafras

A gardening brand, more or less. Sassafras mixes gardening, workwear and military clothing, with pieces named after plants and seasons. The Fall Leaf Gardener Pants, a many-pocketed painter-style trouser, are the cult item. Start with those, in cotton or corduroy.

Kaptain Sunshine

Shinsuke Kojima, a former magazine editor, founded Kaptain Sunshine in 2013. It takes American fieldwear and naval uniforms and remakes them in fabrics woven for the brand on slow looms. Quiet and expensive-feeling rather than loud. Start with a coat or a pair of trousers.

Auralee

Ryota Iwai started Auralee in Tokyo in 2015, and it is all about fabric: the brand develops its own yarns and textiles. No logos, soft colours, beautiful knitwear and tees. Start with a tee or a knit; you will feel the difference immediately.

nanamica

Eiichiro Homma, who spent nearly two decades on outdoor brands, founded nanamica in 2003. It also makes The North Face Purple Label. The idea is outdoor technology, often GORE-TEX, in clothes you can wear to town. Start with a jacket or a coat if you want one thing that handles rain and still looks sharp.

FDMTL

Founded in 2005 by Gaku Tsuyoshi, FDMTL makes indigo pieces in Okayama with a boro and sashiko look, often woven into the fabric by jacquard rather than patched by hand. Start with its jeans; it is the most affordable way into the patchwork look.

Comme des Garçons Homme and Junya Watanabe MAN

Comme des Garçons Homme, the menswear line Rei Kawakubo's label started in 1978, is the plainer, more wearable side of Comme des Garçons: shirts, tailoring and workwear with small twists. Junya Watanabe MAN, Comme des Garçons' menswear line by Junya Watanabe, reworks denim and workwear through patchwork and well-known collaborations with workwear and outdoor names. Start with a CdG Homme shirt or a Junya denim jacket.

Japanese bags and footwear

Porter (Yoshida & Co)

Yoshida & Co. began as Kichizo Yoshida's bag workshop in Tokyo in 1935; its Porter label arrived in 1962. The Tanker series, launched in 1983 and inspired by the MA-1 flight jacket, is the one everyone knows. Start with a Tanker shoulder bag or waist bag from Porter.

Master-Piece

Founded in Osaka in 1994 by Taichi Fujimatsu, Master-Piece makes technical, water-repellent backpacks, slings and totes, much of it in its own Osaka workshop. Often a little cheaper than Porter. Start with a backpack or a sling.

Hender Scheme

Ryo Kashiwazaki started Hender Scheme in 2010 in Asakusa, Tokyo's old leather district. It is famous for remaking classic sneaker shapes entirely in natural, undyed leather that darkens as you wear it, and now makes wallets, bags and small leather goods too. Start with a wallet or a card case.

Affordable Japanese streetwear brands

"Affordable" is relative here: nothing made in Japan in small runs is cheap. The easiest ways in are:

• Accessories from big names. Kapital socks and bandanas, a visvim tee or a Hender Scheme card holder give you the brand for a fraction of a jacket.
• FDMTL and Master-Piece, which sit below the top tier on price.
• Sale. Japanese brands keep making core pieces, so last season's colour of the same trouser is often reduced. Check men's clothing with the sale filter.

How to wear it

Most of these brands are cut loose and long, so balance one roomy piece with something simpler: wide Needles track pants with a plain heavyweight tee, or a boro jacket over a hoodie and straight jeans. Let one piece be the statement and keep the rest quiet.

Compare before you buy

The same piece often sits at very different prices across shops, and Japanese sizes sell out quickly. Browse each brand page above to compare every shop's price and see who still has your size.

Questions people ask

What is the most popular Japanese streetwear brand?

Among the brands here, Kapital, Needles, visvim and Neighborhood are the best known outside Japan. Kapital has the most distinctive look, Needles the best-known single item.

Are Japanese clothing brands good quality?

The brands in this guide generally are: many develop their own fabrics and sew in Japan. Quality follows the brand, not the country, so check where a piece is made.

Do Japanese brands run small?

Usually, yes. Many use numbered sizes and cut closer than European or American labels in the shoulders and sleeves. Compare the shop's measurements with a piece you own.

Is Engineered Garments Japanese?

It is designed in New York by Daiki Suzuki but owned by the Japanese group Nepenthes, the same company behind Needles, so it is often grouped with Japanese brands.