Misha Janette (born December 1, 1983) is an American fashion journalist, fashion director and fashion blogger, based in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. She is best known for her unique personal style, that has made her a fashion personality in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

Early life and education

She was born Michelle Janette Fleming in

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. Janette graduated from

Bunka Fashion College is a Japanese Vocational education, vocational school specializing in fashion design and related disciplines. It is headquartered in Shinjuku, Tokyo, and has more than 70 branches throughout Japan. History The college was founded in 1919 by Is ...

in Tokyo in 2007. "I was apprehensive about going to New York because it actually seemed so ... stereotypical. If I was going to be working from the dirt on up anyway, I decided I might as well start somewhere really left-field and make it interesting."

Career

She started her career as a fashion journalist after graduation, working for ''

The Japan Times ''The Japan Times'' is Japan's largest and oldest English-language daily newspaper. It is published by , a subsidiary of News2u Holdings, Inc. It is headquartered in the in Kioicho, Chiyoda, Tokyo. History ''The Japan Times'' was launched by ...

'' as lead fashion writer. She has also contributed to

Kyodo News is a nonprofit cooperative news agency based in Minato, Tokyo. It was established in November 1945 and it distributes news to almost all newspapers, and radio and television networks in Japan. The newspapers using its news have about 50 million ...

, ''

Numéro Tokyo ''Numéro'' is an international fashion magazine published by Paul-Emmanuel Reiffers. It has a circulation of 80,000, and the French edition reached its 100th issue in February 2009. The magazine covers international fashion, beauty, design, he ...

'', '' Vogue Girl Japan'', ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', ''

Wallpaper Wallpaper is used in interior decoration to cover the interior walls of domestic and public buildings. It is usually sold in rolls and is applied onto a wall using wallpaper paste. Wallpapers can come plain as "lining paper" to help cover uneve ...

'',

CNN Travel Cable News Network (CNN) is a multinational news organization operating, most notably, a website and a TV channel headquartered in Atlanta. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour United Stat ...

, and covers

Tokyo Fashion Week Tokyo Fashion Week (, also known as Tokyo Collection) is a fashion trade show held bi-annually in Tokyo, Japan. It is held twice a year with luxury, ready-to-wear, and streetwear brands presenting their spring collections and fall collections. It ...

for

style.com Style.com was best known as a website owned by international media company Condé Nast. Under Condé Nast, starting in 2000, Style.com was the online site for fashion magazines '' Vogue'' and ''W''. It featured online versions of some of the maga ...

. Her blog was chosen in 2011 as one of Tokyo's top-ten fashion blogs by ''

Vogue Japan ''Vogue'' (stylized in all caps), also known as American ''Vogue'', is a monthly fashion and lifestyle magazine that covers style news, including haute couture fashion, beauty, culture, living, and runway. It is part of the global collection of ...

'' and she was awarded with a window display at

Isetan ( unlisted on March 26, 2008, ) is a Japanese department store. Based in Shinjuku, Tokyo, Isetan has branches throughout Japan and South East Asia, including in Jakarta, Jinan, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Shanghai, Singapore, Surabaya and Tianjin, ...

department store. She is known for her highly particular taste in edgy, avant-garde fashion. This has led to her working as a stylist for celebrities including actress and musician

Nicki Minaj Onika Tanya Maraj-Petty (born December 8, 1982), known professionally as Nicki Minaj ( ), is a Trinidadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. Regarded as the "Queen of Rap" and one of the most influential rappers of all time, she is noted for her ...

, actress

Rinko Kikuchi is a Japanese actress, and was the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years, for her work in '' Babel'' (2006). Kikuchi's other notable films include '' Norwegian Wood'' (2010), which screened in competition ...

, and philosopher

Shimoda Kageki Shimoda may refer to: Places in Japan *Shimoda, Shizuoka, a city in Shizuoka Prefecture **Shimoda Ropeway, an aerial tramway which climbs Mount Nesugata *Shimoda, Aomori, a town in Aomori Prefecture *Shimoda Station, a railway station in Oirase, A ...

. She has hosted the television show ''

Kawaii International ''Kawaii'' is a Japanese cultural phenomenon which emphasizes cuteness, childlike innocence, charm, and simplicity. ''Kawaii'' culture began to flourish in the 1970s, driven by youth culture and the rise of cute characters in manga and anime ...

'' on the

NHK World NHK World-Japan (formerly and also known simply as NHK World) is the international arm of the Japanese public broadcaster NHK. Its services are aimed at the overseas market, similar to those offered by other national public-service broadcasters, ...

network from the show's premiere in 2012, through its series finale in 2021. In 2012, she owns and designs a wig brand called Plumb. In 2012, she was chosen as one of the "power people" from Tokyo for Seibu Shibuya department store campaign, along with

Patricia Field Patricia Field (born February 12, 1942) is an American costume designer, stylist, and fashion designer working in New York City. Early life Field was born in New York City to an Armenian father and a Greek mother, who emigrated from Plomari, L ...

. Shot by celebrity photographer

Leslie Kee Leslie Kee (born 5 April 1971) is a Singaporean photographer based in Japan. Early life Leslie Kee was born on 5 April 1971, in Singapore. His biological parents were never legally married; His father is a Japanese business man, who visited Sin ...

. In the same year, Janette collaborated with

Coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

on a custom "legacy" bag as a

fashion influencer A fashion influencer is a personality that has a large number of followers on social media, creates mainly fashion content and has the power to influence the opinion and purchase behavior of others with their recommendations. Brand marketing, Bran ...

and auctioned for charity. She was the only blogger flown from Japan to attend the 12-13 AW

Milan Fashion Week Milan Fashion Week () is a clothing trade show held semi-annually in Milan, Italy. Upcoming autumn/winter fashions are showcased in February/March of each year, and upcoming spring/summer fashions are showcased in September/October of each year ...

as a guest of

Gucci Guccio Gucci S.p.A., doing business as Gucci ( , ), is an Italian Luxury goods, luxury fashion house based in Florence. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and ...

with a trip to its factory in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. She was invited as a top global blogger to the

Prada Prada S.p.A. (, ; ) is an Italian luxury fashion house founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada. It specializes in leather handbags, travel accessories, shoes, ready-to-wear, and other fashion accessories. Prada licenses its name and branding ...

Tokyo show with

Rumi Neely Rumi Neely is an American fashion blogger known for her style and photography. Biography Neely created "Fashion Toast" in 2008 and in tandem with an eBay vintage store called "Treasure Chest Vintage." By 2009, it was receiving over 35,000 hits pe ...

Bryanboy Bryan Grey Yambao (21 March 1982), also known as Bryanboy, is a Filipino fashion blogger and socialite. A former web developer, he started blogging at age 24 from his parents' Manila home. His eponymous blog won the 2007 Philippine Blog Award f ...

, Susie Bubble, and Dane Pernet. The photo report was featured on Prada.com (2012). In 2013, she was chosen as the Japan representative blogger for the

Furla Furla is an Italian luxury brand that has been in the leather goods industry since 1927. The company produces luxury handbags and accessories. History Furla was founded in Bologna (Emilia-Romagna), Italy in 1927 by Aldo Furlanetto, selling lad ...

#CandyCool project, with a documentary and custom bag that was to be released in February 2014 during Milan Fashion Week. In the same year, Janette was flown to the ''Elle'' Bangkok Fashion Week 2013 as a power influencer from Japan. Since 2013, she has written a monthly column, "Life in the 2.5 Dimension" in the Japanese fashion magazine ''

Soen Soen is a Swedish progressive metal band formed in 2010. The group consists of vocalist Joel Ekelöf, guitarist Cody Lee Ford, drummer Martin Lopez and keyboardist Lars Åhlund. They are currently signed to Silver Lining and have released six ...

''. She is also asked to DJ at fashion events and clubs, such as the

Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly constructed location or the start of an event.

third-anniversary event in Tokyo. She has collaborated with

on the #candycool project, making a bag and documentary video. Janette started a blog
Tokyo Fashion Diaries
', in 2011 following the

Great Hanshin earthquake The Great Hanshin Earthquake (, ) occurred on January 17, 1995, at 05:46:53 JST in the southern part of Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, including the region of Hanshin. It measured 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale and had a maximum intensity of 7 o ...

; the blog is written in English, Japanese, and Chinese. It is a platform for her artistic fashion photo shoots she styles as a fashion director, and as a journalist, she follows both Japanese and Western fashion with a leaning towards avant-garde runways and independent designers.

At the beginning, I was thinking about creating a blog to introduce Japanese fashion to people outside Japan. But the information on young designers that I write about in my blog are often not covered by Japanese magazines, and I wanted Japanese people to know about them too, so I decided to make my blog bilingual. She has since risen to become one of the most prominent fashion bloggers in Japan.

Early life and education

Career

See also

References

External links