Tradition/Rebellion: Coming-of-Age Style in Kitakyushu, Japan (11-30 Nov)

From fur-trimmed kimono to gravity-defying hair, Tradition/Rebellion is a world of colour and creativity. It celebrates the eclectic and flamboyant fashion worn by 20-year-olds in the Japanese city of Kitakyushu as they mark their entry into adulthood.

Every January, coming-of-age ceremonies take place across Japan, usually marked by formal kimono and speeches. In Kitakyushu, an industrial port city on the southern island of Kyushu, they do things a little differently. Here, a counterculture of one-upmanship among the city’s young citizens has helped shape an array of extreme and deeply personal fashions, all in the name of demonstrating individuality.

Tradition/Rebellion follows eight of Kitakyushu’s ‘new adults’, from the first fitting to the ceremony itself. Each look is made possible by a bustling local industry: kimono renters, fashion designers, hairdressers and photographers, all working round the clock to transform their clients. See the outfits for yourselves in this exhibition, along with tactile displays and video interviews with the city’s residents.

Co-curated by fashion director Yamaguchi Souta and Japan House London’s Simon Wright, with the people of Kitakyushu, Tradition/Rebellion is an original Japan House London exhibition built over several years. It shines a light on one city’s most extraordinary day and asks what it really means to come of age.