True cross-cultural fashion fusion is a blend not just between different areas of the globe, but of the ideologies and motivations associated by each region’s native people.

The high fashion fusions included in this cluster test the boundaries of cross-cultural collaboration. Wafrica kimonos, which are Japanese kimonos made with traditional African fabrics, are a more straightforward example. And Vogue Nippon’s ‘Stranger in a Strange Land’ editorial captured Carmen Kass in Japan looking very much like a fish out of water, but this too is an easy juxtaposition.

Other cultural couture collaborations aren’t as easy for outsiders to understand. David Walliams, for example, celebrates the release of Walliams’ children’s book ‘The Boy In A Dress’ by posing for Observer Woman in women’s couture fashions from the likes of Vivienne Westwood. And V Magazine’s ‘Dogging’ fashion editorial features a voyeuristic spirit that was deemed too racy for even Vogue Italia.

Innovation often hinges on contrast, and these examples of fashion fusion have certainly utilized cultural differences to their benefit.