Foreign Designers Excited by Tokyo

It is almost inevitable that Japanese fashion designers move their base of operations to Paris, Milan or some other European city once - or even before -they establish their names internationally, because these cities are considered the centers of the fashion world.

Japan often receives visits from foreign designers, but these visits are typically limited and timed to coincide with some major event, such as the opening of a boutique.

It is obvious that the world does not consider Japan to be a fashion center in the same way as the European cities, and this is borne out by the small number of foreign journalists who attend the Tokyo Collection, an event at which designers in Japan present their new creations twice a year.

But some non-Japanese designers do choose to establish their base in Tokyo.

They may differ in terms of philosophy and style, but they all seem satisfied to be in Japan so long as their customers love their clothes - or at the very least they see no overriding advantage in moving to a "fashion center" to pursue their careers.

Patrick Ryan, who has been living and working in Japan for almost 18 years, said Japan was probably the most targeted market in the world from the viewpoint of fashion companies' mass-marketing based on fashion trends.

But Ryan, known for simple, rather low-profile clothing