Many great fashion labels were born in Tokyo – the likes of A Bathing Ape, Cosmic Wonder, Undercover, and Number(n)ine. They are all part of the Tokyo fashion scene that is currently taking over Paris, NYC and London. However, Japanese fashion isn't yet seen as being truly global, and the Tokyo Fashion Week is a rather minor event compared to other international fashion weeks (although Suzy Menkes attended once). So, who is going to lead Japanese fashion into the world? How about Babymary?

We at Dazed & Confused Japan organise a party every month, and this month we did it with the most unorthodox Japanese fashionista, Babymary. She owns her own fashion boutique “Faline”, in Tokyo and Nagoya. High fashion in Japan tends to be quite snobby and doesn’t really pay attention to anything going on around street fashions, as they try to cater for those who work in the fashion and media industry. But this is not the case with her, as her friendly personality always keeps her in close contact with those on the streets, and she regards this as an important source to be in touch with what’s really going on at street-level.

There is no question that fashion week is extremely important if you want to make it globally, but at the same time, I believe just one person like her has the power to take Japanese fashion to the world. Her personal approach to people who come into her boutique is really friendly and she values everybody's opinions on her clothes – and this down-to-earth approach will contribute to her success. And she loves to get involved in the underground party scene as well.