How Two Tokyo Neighborhoods Influenced Nicki Minaj, Gwen Stefani And The West (PHOTOS)

Our Japanese brothers and sisters have had to endure a devastating earthquake and tsunami that destroyed lives and infrastructure. To honor them and their creativity, we turn our gaze to two of our favorite fashion capitols: Harajuku and Omotosando, Tokyo.

You probably know Harajuku, thanks to Gwen Stefani and Nicki Minaj but Harajuku was poppin way before these artists. As matter of fact, 30 years ago, Japan completely changed the way the West saw fashion. Japan influenced the West in art and fashion, reversing the flow of cultural consumption, combining the avant-garde with the conventional, mixing the geometry of the everyday with new textiles and fabrics, marrying fashion with art.

The Japanese attention to detail in tailoring and materials is what's most often lauded. This is the case with two shows launched in New York and London: FIT's "Japanese Fashion Now" and The Barbican's "Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion" which ran from December 1, 2010 to February 6, 2011.