Having begun his career designing both western clothing and kimono, at the age of 27, Jotaro Saito made the decision to concentrate solely on the latter. The experience gained through designing western styles greatly influenced the direction of his kimono. Taking inspiration from the 'street', Saito set about creating contemporary designs that resonate with a modern fashion-conscious customer. Saito's collections, which are shown at Tokyo Fashion Week, are still made using the traditional and extremely time-consuming method of hand-drawn yuzen dyeing. The resulting ensembles blend unique, multi-layered designs with an identifiably Japanese garment.