Rei Shito: The Look #48

You never know who you’ll meet at fashion week. Models, influencers, perhaps even Dame Vivienne Westwood herself. This month, Rei Shito shares a recent encounter with a fashionista who, though not yet part of the in-crowd, possesses a passion, enthusiasm and creativity that may certainly take him places.

Rei says: “Tokyo’s biannual fashion week – known as Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo – was held in late summer this year from 28 August to 3 September. Among the thousands of fashionable Tokyoites who came out to see the catwalk shows and style spectacles was this young man, who I met outside of one of the show venues. He’s a high school student, just 17 years old, but he’s already found his calling: fashion.

“He says he loves fashion so much, he came here even though he couldn’t enter the show; he just wanted to come to the venue to soak up the atmosphere, the electric vibes that happen when so many creative people converge on a place.

“What’s more, he told me that much of his outfit is his own creation: he hand-made the metal chains on his top, and he crafted his eye-catching wide-leg jeans by stitching together four pieces of denim.

“Many of Tokyo’s young generation are full of passion for fashion, and some of them – like this inspiring stylista – may be the future of fashion itself.”

About Rei Shito

Each month, Rei Shito identifies one defining look that she’s spotted on the street, whether at home in Japan or abroad on her latest trip to the world’s fashion hotspots, providing readers with a fresh, thought-provoking perspective on current trends. Rei is acclaimed as one of the planet’s most original and influential street style photographers and fashion bloggers, publishing her work on her blog Style from Tokyo, as well as several magazines in Japan and overseas, such as vogue.com. For more street style inspiration, follow Rei on Instagram.
[Portrait Rei: Jun Tamura]