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March 29, 2025
 

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Samuel Thomas

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Samuel Thomas
Samuel Thomas is a fashion writer and lecturer in fashion media at Bunka Gakuen University. He regularly contributes to The Japan Times, among other publications, and provides consultancy services to industry clients.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Sep 12, 2021
What makes virtual fashion shows work? Clever videos certainly help
With even big-name houses struggling for views, brands that abandoned the typical film format found the most success.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Aug 15, 2021
Tokyo fashion week shifts its schedule, signaling Japan-focused approach
Rakuten seizes the opportunity to better appeal to a local clientele, while skateboarding style tops the Olympic podium.
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jul 11, 2021
Tokyo 2020’s Olympic uniforms are here to make a statement
Athletes' uniforms illustrate the values each country wishes to embody. So think of the Olympics opening ceremony as one of the largest runway shows the world has to offer.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jun 13, 2021
For new fashion events and collections, it’s all about the timing
Japan's latest styles celebrate Pride Month (sort of), take fashion week to print and collaborate with vintage video games.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
May 16, 2021
Kawaii, but make it subversive: Japan’s latest fashion is more than its frills
The country's over-20s are embracing cute clothing in a subversive push against adulthood.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Apr 11, 2021
Pop culture paraphernalia is where fashion is at — if you can afford it
After many stores shut their doors last month, there's now a pop culture-tinged positivity imbuing Japan's fashion scene.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Mar 13, 2021
Practical workwear bucks the trends and brands turn to digital talent
Utility wear brand Workman is enjoys rise in sales despite a downturn in the fashion industry. Meanwhile, Valentino and Wego sign on virtual celebrities to appeal to specific demographics.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Feb 13, 2021
Japan’s fashion scene gets smaller in more ways than one
Boutique shops and small brands face closure, while beauty influencer Akiico steps up to promote petite sizes.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jan 9, 2021
Flashbacks and fantasy kick off Japan’s 2021 fashion scene
As department stores try to make up for a dismal 2020, recently released capsule collections turn to feel-good, nostalgic escapism.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Dec 13, 2020
Made-to-order luxury for the 2020 holiday season
This season's shopping trends? Artisanal gift wrapping and glamorous jewelry for you and your mask.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Nov 15, 2020
Japanese fashion tackles the issues of the moment
From practical masks and saving sento culture to provocative commentary on gender, brands and designers find their moment.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Oct 11, 2020
Tokyo’s fashion weeks kick off live (and with precautions)
It's business as usual, save for sparse seating and masks. But the streaming options mean this is the most accessible these events have ever been.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Sep 13, 2020
As the industry goes online, fashion trends go retro
Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo is still on schedule; Animal Crossing is haute couture; and Wacko Maria celebrates 15 years.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Aug 9, 2020
The limitless energy of Japanese fashion
Legendary designer Kansai Yamamoto's legacy lives on, and the fashion world starts to adapt to consumer needs in Japan's new normal.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jul 12, 2020
The everyday mask gets more designer upgrades
Japan's department stores see a surprising sales recovery in June and masks continue to move high-end.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design / ON: FASHION
Jun 14, 2020
Fashion on pause looks for a path forward
Fashion in Japan is tentatively back in business. What to expect? Socially distanced shopping and stylish mask-wearing.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Mar 30, 2020
Fashion week is compelled to go online
Japan's fashion industry was hit hard by the March cancellation of Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo, saved only by livestreaming and online content as a way to keep fans informed.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Feb 24, 2020
Behind the mask: The show must go on
As the impact of COVID-19 leads to the postponement or cancelation of various fashion events, the industry faces a quandary — it is unseemly to focus on the relatively trivial business of style at a time of great concern?
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 23, 2019
Japan's fashion brands look to meet new consumer standards
As the festive season encourages consumers to splash out and treat themselves, there's both good and bad news in the fashion industry.
Japan Times
LIFE / Style & Design
Dec 2, 2019
Japan's end-of-year fashion ups and downs
As the year ends, Japan's fashion landscape finds itself facing big changes in street brands, department stores and sales tactics.
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Massive quake kills at least 150 in Myanmar and Thailand
Medical workers treat a earthquake survivor on a bed in the compound of a hospital in Naypyitaw on Friday, after an earthquake in central Myanmar.
Student suicides in Japan hit all-time high
A volunteer handles an incoming call at the Tokyo Befrienders call center, a suicide hotline center in Japan's capital.
Tourist submarine sinks in Red Sea of Egypt, leaving 6 people dead
The interior of a Sindbad submarine vessel at sea off Hurghada, Egypt, in August 2024, in this still image obtained from video.
Yellow sand blankets cities across Japan
The Meteorological Agency forecast the yellow sand to move away from eastern Honshu by 6 p.m. on Wednesday. But it will continue to cover parts of western Honshu and Shikoku until Thursday morning, it said.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.
Hanami season to have record ¥1.39 trillion economic impact on Japan
Cherry blossoms along a road in Tokyo on Tuesday. The 2025 cherry blossom season is expected to have an economic impact of around ¥1.39 trillion on Japan.
Tokyo Series proves to be big business for MLB — and Japanese companies
An advertisement featuring Shohei Ohtani in Tokyo.
New SDF command will be key for contingency planning, Australian commander says
A Maritime Self-Defense Force SH-60K "Super Auk" from JS Shiranui prepares to land on HMAS Brisbane during Exercise Malabar 2023 while off the coast of New South Wales, Australia.
Japanese wages likely to rise more than 5% again this year
Wages are set for another big increase this year as annual negotiations secure generous agreements.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

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The sun shines from behind a waving Philippine flag at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.
Eighty years after the Battle of Manila, old foes forge new ties
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