The sobriety of this Old Testament is juxtaposed against the main area of the exhibit, a large room that houses the fashions of the last decade. The venue is an artfully executed imitation of contemporary Tokyo, the backdrop provided by photographs shot by the husband of Dr. Valerie Steele, the chief curator at the Museum at FIT.
    The room is broken up into four areas: the high end fashion, featuring contemporary work by you-know-who and by younger designers like Jun Takahashi of Undercover, and Junya Watanabe and Tao Kurihara, both Rei Kawakubo’s proteges. Then there is a small section devoted to menswear, its highlight being the look from the last collection of the now-defunct cult label Number (N)ine. Another large area is devoted to fashion subcultures like Lolitas and GothLolis, as well as uniforms of Japanese biker gangs (no perfecto jackets). The last bit features a few Cosplay costumes.
    “Japan is the most fashion crazed country in the world,” Dr. Steele says, “and its tremendous variety of styles is produced not only by professional designers but by the kids on the street, which is really, I think, one of the reasons Japanese fashion looks so exciting to the Western world. Japan is on the bleeding edge of fashion.”
    The exhibition is accompanied by a beautifully illustrated book, Japan Fashion Now (Yale University Press, $39.95) with informative essays by Dr. Steele and other members of the FIT faculty.