You’ll see work by well-known names such as Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto and Comme des Garçons, as well as some of Japan’s most adventurous up-and-coming designers. I went along this morning for a sneak preview.

The outfits on show range from minimalist black-and-white smocks, to intricate origami dresses, and stunning clothes made from bright red, seamless tubing.

While some of the creations are totally wearable, others could only be worn by the likes of Lady Gaga. Eating, sitting down or going to the loo in some of the more elaborate clothes would be out of the question.

One outfit had a built-in parasol, one had a face-covering black mask, one featured a huge cushioned bustle, and one consisted of head-to-toe tartan (including a stuffed tartan elephant in place of the sporran).

I’m not sure how much of this will end up on the high street, but the designers’ creativity and skill is impressive and the show is definitely worth a visit.

Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion is at Barbican Art Gallery from 15 October to 6 February www.barbican.org.uk

Japan is about to become big in London. While Londoners have long enjoyed the taste of Japan at numerous restaurants and sushi bars, we’ve been mostly missing out on the kooky-cool of Japanese pop culture. But that’s all about to change, according to Yukiko Takahashi, general manager of the upcoming Hyper Japan event.

“Sushi is so widespread and well-known in London now”, she says, “But Japanese pop culture is the new star. British people like new stuff and they’re really curious about Japan.

“While Japanese [computer] games do really well in the UK, other things such as anime and cosplay haven’t been as big here as they are in France and Germany, for example. But it’s time for London to embrace Japanese culture, big time!”

Hyper Japan is a two-day event in October that’s bringing Manga, cosplay, technology and Japanese street fashion to the heart of happening Shoreditch. The Barbican is also turning Japanese this October, with an exhibition, Future Beauty: 30 Years of Japanese Fashion and a season of Japanese cinema.

Outside work, when she’s homesick Takahashi says she personally enjoys Tomoe restaurant in Marylebone, and visiting Japanese food shops – “they’re a sacred place for us” – such as Atari-ya for fresh sashimi and the Japan Centre on Regent Street. A favourite hidden gem is Adanami Shobo, a second-hand book shop with a karaoke-box behind it.

Takahashi also mentions Camden as a good spot to find touches of Japan in London.  ”Lolita gothic fashion I find really interesting, and it’s got a real connection to the London street fashion of the 1970s – what Vivienne Westwood and Malcolm McLaren were doing. “I think London and Japan definitely have a connection when it comes to fashion.”

What are your top tips for Japanese stuff in London? Tell us in the comments below.

Although she’s in her 70s,  wonderful Wanda’s still got the pipes that made her one of the biggest female rock’n'roll stars of the 1950s and beyond.

Her career was helped along by a certain Elvis Presley, whose “ring she wore” (she was his girlfriend) for about year back in the day. And that’s just one of the entertaining stories about her life Wanda recounts as enjoyable stage banter throughout the show.  Another is how popular her hit Fujiyama Mama was in Japan – the song contains the lyrics “I can cause destruction just like the atom bomb”, which you’d imagine might have been rather confronting in 1957.

Imelda May was the support act and she also joined Wanda on stage to belt out a few tunes together, including one of my faves: Hard Headed Woman.  Other standouts were Let’s Have A Party and Funnel Of Love. And, proving she’s not stuck in the past, Wanda did a cover of Amy Winehouse’s You Know I’m No Good from her new album, which was produced by the White Stripes‘ Jack White.

The Luminaire is a real music-lovers venue. It’s intimate, with great sound, and it’s just a shame Wanda’s so tiny, we could barely see her on the low stage. We could hear her perfectly though, because even after 50 years in the biz, Wanda can still wail!