Japanese manga and anime has been all the rage in recent years, even on major runways. 

The Japanese <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/art/4-highlights-of-singapore-art-week" target="_blank">art</a> of storytelling, manga, is known for its distinctive style and widespread&nbsp;popularity. Originating during the 12th century,&nbsp;the early form of comics presented itself as detailed scrolls with vivid visuals and provocative text. The title &quot;manga&quot; became linked to the artistic practice in 1798, during the historic Edo period.&nbsp;By the 1920s, the scrolls evolved into something that closely resembled conventional&nbsp;comic strips and&nbsp;were&nbsp;quickly circulated throughout the public via&nbsp;serialization in newspapers and magazines. Manga&nbsp;generally draws on the themes of satire, romance, and science fiction.

Since its inception, the genre and its video counterpart, <a href="https://www.lofficiel.at/en/art%20&amp;%20culture/kim-kardashian-goes-anime-for-richardson-magazine" target="_blank">anime</a>,&nbsp;has&nbsp;grown to establish a lucrative industry and an international imprint. Well-liked&nbsp;series such as Sailor Moon and Doraemon, in addition to the kawaii character&nbsp;<a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/travel-living/hello-kitty-wine-2019" target="_blank">Hello Kitty</a>,&nbsp;have been born out of an&nbsp;explosion of interest in manga all over the world. Moreover, the influence of manga&nbsp;is so powerful, that in recent years the pervasive&nbsp;comics have transcended glossy magazine pages&nbsp;and found their way onto major fashion <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/chinese-new-year-fashion-red-and-gold-runway-looks" target="_blank">runways</a>.&nbsp;

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But before the biggest designers were turning to manga and anime, the Japanese cartoon world was looking at the Paris runways for inspiration. Sailor Moon creator Naoko Takeuchi&nbsp;often fashioned her heroines&rsquo; clothes from designer looks from Chanel, Dior, Thierry Mugler, and more. Whereas manga&rsquo;s influence on fashion is often interpreted as cute or novel, Takeuchi showed how designer fashion co-opted into her magical universe was empowering. In the anime, fashion often underlines the soldier sailor schoolgirls&rsquo; powers. When they transform into superheroines, it shows the sequence of their metamorphosis into the mini-skirted, bow-adorned femme fighters.

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Today, sought-after manga series&nbsp;have&nbsp;blossomed into brands within themselves. Merchandise with&nbsp;popular characters and&nbsp;themed home goods are just a few things that have&nbsp;precipitated out the&nbsp;collective adoration of the various shows and series. However, the manga obsession does not stop there. Major labels such a <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/men/louis-vuitton-fall-winter-2021-mens-virgil-abloh" target="_blank">Louis Vuitton,</a> <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/moschino-39-s-irreverent-vernissage" target="_blank">Moschino</a>, and <a href="https://www.lofficiel.com.cy/architecture-design/fashion-design-and-art-under-the-roof-of-prada-transformer" target="_blank">Prada</a> have all embraced manga on the runway with statement pieces inspired by the signature comic style&nbsp;and direct allusions to viral characters. Recently, Gucci released a Doraemon X Gucci capsule collection for <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/chinese-new-year-fashion-designer-capsule-collections-lunar-new-year-2021" target="_blank">Chinese New Year</a>, placing the manga cat-robot on bags, tees, and more. The&nbsp;artistry of manga,&nbsp;which is indicative of centuries filled with creativity fused with Japanese tradition, is similarly as detail-oriented and beautiful as clothing design. The intersection of the two feels natural yet nuanced as it mixes exclusive&nbsp;luxury with accessible art.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

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In <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion-week/louis-vuitton-fall-2020-runway-show" target="_blank">Louis Vuitton&#39;s</a> Spring/Summer 2021 menswear show, creative director <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/virgil-abloh-damien-hirst-tetsuzo-okubo-beverly-hirst-recycler-canary-yellow" target="_blank">Virgil Abloh</a> sought out Reggieknow, an America-based anime artist, to create illustrations to accompany this collection. The manga-inspired&nbsp;motif hit the runway in the form of oversized inflated statues of Reggieknow&#39;s characters and clothing adorned with stuffed figures.&nbsp;

Louis Vuitton Spring/Summer 2021 Men's

Anime styles and allusions are especially prevalent in <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/men/l-officiel-project-las-vegas" target="_blank">streetwear</a>. Accessible brands like Uniqlo and <a href="https://www.lofficielarabia.com/fashion/adidas-originals-and-pharrell-williams-launch-collaborative-superstar" target="_blank">Adidas</a> have put out highly&nbsp;successful collaborations with Manga&nbsp;series such as Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z. Moreover, high-end brands, closely linked to hype beast culture,&nbsp;like <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/pop%20culture/supreme-oreo-collaboration-spring-2020" target="_blank">Supreme</a> and Bape have also engaged&nbsp;in similar collaborations.&nbsp;

Supreme X Akira

Bape X One Piece

Adidas X Dragon Ball Z

Uniqlo X Sailor Moon

Altogether, the fusion&nbsp;of manga&nbsp;culture and popular fashion amalgamates&nbsp;vivid visuals and unparalleled artistry in a way that reminiscent of the playful nature of anime and the importance of clothing design. Many designers have recognized the fine line between the two art forms and have&nbsp;consequently created many memorable <a href="https://www.lofficielusa.com/fashion/young-kate-moss-90s-style-runway" target="_blank">runway moments</a>.&nbsp;

The Unexpected Connection Between Manga Culture and High Fashion

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