# JUNYA WATANABE

> JUNYA WATANABE is a ready-to-wear label based in Tokyo, Japan, started in 1992. Behind the label: Junya Watanabe. Known for technical, pattern-led reworkings of familiar garments, from honeycomb pleats to tailoring.

- Canonical: https://thecastindex.com/designers/junya-watanabe
- Country guide: https://thecastindex.com/houses/japanese-designers
- Facts checked: 2026-10-22
- Author: Kaiser Khan (Founder & Editor)

## Quick facts

- Behind the label: Junya Watanabe
- Based: Tokyo, Japan
- Since: 1992
- Focus: Ready-to-wear
- Makes: Womenswear and Junya Watanabe MAN menswear, within Comme des Garçons
- Trained: Bunka Fashion College
- Official site: https://www.comme-des-garcons.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/junyawatanabe/

## Who is behind JUNYA WATANABE?

Born in Fukushima in 1961, Junya Watanabe joined Comme des Garçons in 1984 after Bunka Fashion College and started on its Tricot line in 1987. His own womenswear label, launched within the company in 1992, showed first in Tokyo and a year later in Paris, and Junya Watanabe MAN followed with the Spring/Summer 2001 season. He won the Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix in 1993 and 1999, the Fédération notes. The Kyoto Costume Institute holds an Autumn/Winter 2000 dress with a heat-cut honeycomb ruff, and The Met an Autumn/Winter 2015–16 ensemble in collapsible honeycomb pleats. Both lines showed on every official Paris calendar we checked, FW24 to SS27.

## Timeline

- 1992: Launches his womenswear label within Comme des Garçons, shown first in Tokyo. (source: https://www.fhcm.paris/en/house/junya-watanabe)
- 1993: Shows in Paris for the first time, and wins his first Mainichi Fashion Grand Prix. (source: https://www.fhcm.paris/en/house/junya-watanabe)
- 2015: The Met acquires an ensemble from his Autumn/Winter 2015–16 collection. (source: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/698549)
- 26 June 2026: Junya Watanabe MAN shows SS27 on the official Paris menswear calendar. (source: https://www.fhcm.paris/en/upcoming-seasons-and-previous-editions)
- 3 October 2026: Shows SS27 womenswear on the official Paris calendar. (source: https://www.fhcm.paris/en/upcoming-seasons-and-previous-editions)

## Sources

- [FHCM — Junya Watanabe house page](https://www.fhcm.paris/en/house/junya-watanabe) — checked 2026-10-22
- [The Met — Junya Watanabe for Comme des Garçons ensemble, fall/winter 2015–16 (2015.570a–c)](https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/698549) — checked 2026-10-22
- [Kyoto Costume Institute — Junya Watanabe dress, Autumn/Winter 2000](https://www.kci.or.jp/en/archives/digital_archives/2000s/KCI_298) — checked 2026-10-22
- [FHCM — official calendars, FW24 to SS27](https://www.fhcm.paris/en/upcoming-seasons-and-previous-editions) — checked 2026-10-22