Confusion is next. Hedi Slimane has lensed Saskia de Brauw for his SS13 Saint Laurent menswear campaign, which is sure to open the doors to a new style androgyny. A pendant to the brilliantly witchy patchouli-fumed SS13 womenswear catwalk, with no hairdressing and no make-up de Brauw cuts a dashing figure that's allurring whatever your sex or sexuality, as the campaign dismantes the strand of obvious masculinity that has pervaded fashion over the past couple of years, hijacked by men (and media) who strive to justify their interest in clothes be as 'manly' as football. No longer. The message here is that gender and sexuality, just as Slimane's vision, is entirely intellectual and hedonistic. With the same clothes, shoes and accessories available for men and women, the designer is giving his female clients the keys to expression – be the epitome of the Saint Laurent Parisienne or the lead singer in the band, it's up to you. Whatever the case, boys get sublime clothes. Fashion is a discipline dealing in identity and expression that should anchor to the spirit of our time – this, the end of the literal,is a very welcome thing.

So, Dazed is launching a photography competition with D&AD Student Awards 2013 and inviting you to create a portrait of contemporary youth.

Find a single iconic image that will remain as viscerally relevant in a decade as it was when it was shot. Shoot your friends, your peers. Shoot reality, fantasy, people with interesting stories and great ideas. Speak your own visual language, and say it loud. We can't wait to see what you show us!

The deadline is wednesday 20 March 2013, click here to enter, and use the hashtag #studentawards. Good luck!

As a pendant to Nicola Formichetti's full-on fashion in the #Fantasia issue, we set out, guided by the superstylist, to meet some of the most exciting Tokyo design talent of the moment. 6%DOKIDOKI founder, Kyary Pamyu Pamya and Nicki Minaj collaborator Sebastian Masuda was at the forefront of the Harajuku look, which he believes has taken 20 years to be treated with reverence. "What I want to say through all my projects is that the future is bright," Masuda tells Dazed. "You can create the future even you don't go to school or a famous university. Believe it, there is always a bright future for you."

Dazed Digital: Can you tell us when you launched your label?
Sebastian Masuda: 6%DOKIDOKI is the store based on the concept "sensational kawaii". I started this store in 1995 when I was 24. I was originally from a contemporary art and stage entertainment field, so haven't studied fashion at all. However I was dragged into fashion by fashion side of people.

I was inspired by a poet and a dramatist Shuji Terayama, and found interested in fine art and drama when I was a teenager. I learned the importance of "uncategorizedfreedom of expression" from his books and films. At that moment, everyone was into Comme des Garons-ish black and white and something digital, but I was looking into colourful stuff. No one has been doing such colourful expression so everyone issues with my work. But I believed in what I was doing, I wanted people to accept it. I came up with the idea of starting a shop which I took as a long-term gallery exhibition for me. Fashion people gradually started to accept wearing crazy stuff for clubbing, and this movement led into the phenomenon of 90s Harajuku colourful fashion.

DD: Who wears your clothes?
Sebastian Masuda: People who love colourful street fashion in Harajuku! Mostly girls from the ages of 18 to 25, and more recently we have male customers too. There are lots of fans overseas from Nicki Minaj to Nenna Yvonne. Bigbang, SHINee, and lot more K-pop stars wear 6%DOKIDOKI accessories for their music videos. And of course Kyary Pamyu Pamyu who came to the shop before she became famous. I create lots of art sets for her music videos and concerts, and sometimes produce her concerts overseas.

DD: Tell us more about collaboration with Kyary Pamyu Pamyu...
Sebastian Masuda: She came to 6%DOKIDOKI wearing a big ribbon, but the first work was our magazine cover shoot. We wanted someone representing as a strong icon for the next era, and I cast her. After she made her debut as a musician, she asked me to collaborate. She always inspires creatives, like her music producer Yasutaka Nakata for example, and is searching for something unseen and completely new.

DD: What's your most famous design?
Sebastian Masuda: Colourful pieces with strong messages. One of our greatest hits is the Revolution clip/brooch which was introduced in 2000 and is still very popular. Lots of fashion people have them! By wearing this piece made with the the word in Kanji letters and glitter materials, I want people to keep having revolutions in their hearts.

DD: What's the best moment in your career so far?
Sebastian Masuda:I haven't achieved it yet. My pop and colourful designs have just started to be accepted by the public. People used to make fun of it before...

DD: What are your hopes for the future?
Sebastian Masuda:I became producer of 6%DOKIDOKI from 2 years ago and one of our staff is now the main designer. Recently I'm working more as an art director for commercials, music videos and concerts. At the same time, I'd like to spread out this Harajuku culture based on the idea "kawaii". In 2013, I'd like to have an exhibition of my work both in Japan and New York. All my projects will become more global from next year!

DD: What's your favourite thing about Nicola Formichetti?
Sebastian Masuda:He is great because he understands how Tokyo is interesting from the global point of view. People like Nicola Formichetti accept Japanese culture without any prejudice so those people are good at "cooking" something with it. I'm looking forward to see what he will create next.

DD: Is there anything else you'd like to tell us?
Sebastian Masuda:I'll keep working as an art director, creating things with this brand 6%DOKIDOKI, and expressing something with the idea of fashion through Harajuku "kawaii" culture. It took about 20 years to let people understand how amazing this colourful world is. What I want to say through all my projects is that the future is bright. You can create the future even you don't go to school or a famous university. Believe it, there is always a bright future for you.

PhotographyDaisuke Hamada

Shot by Nicola's frequent collaborator Matt Irwin is Angelababy, the stunning and lively actress from Hong Kong, who was first scouted as a model. Nicola Formichetti styled and directed her on set, whilst Cycy Sanders captured the moment, editing this, one of a number of behind-the-scenes vids for Dazed Digital. Take a look at the video above, and the shoot below, taken from the December issue of Dazed & Confused.

As part of Nicola's Dazed takeover, we invited about five innovative GIF designers - recommended by Nicola himself - to redesign the iconic panda illustration at the heart of his new concept fashion line Nicopanda. We've already had contributions from GIF makers German Lavrovskiy, Mr-GIF, and Akihiko Taniguchi, and now we have work from FashGif.

Started by Greta Larkins, the site FashGif creates GIFs of moving models, in often comic ways, to present all the latest catwalk collections. We asked the self-taught GIF-er a few questions below...

Tell me about the panda GIF you made.

This is actually the first time I've ever made one of those zooming, eternally looping GIFs. The Nicopanda image lent itself perfectly to that style, so I had good fun experimenting and playing with the animation until it was smooth and consistent. Then I mixed up the colours of the exploding eye for fun.

Tell me about your practice and style.

The majority of my GIFs are made from starting with a still image and creating layers that ultimately become the moving elements. A lot of what I do is rebuilding the background of an image; so if I move a models arm I need to recreate what would be behind that arm. If I can execute this cleanly it helps with the overall illusion and makes the GIF more real.

What do you do when you’re not making GIFs?

I work for a company that wholesales jewellery and I spend most of my day on Photoshop re-colouring products (say, making a red scarf green or turning a silver necklace into rose gold) and trend forecasting. That's where my interest in fashion began - but I'm scarily obsessed with jewellery for someone who's surrounded by a lot of it. There's about 100 pieces of jewellery on my desk right now! I'm also learning ballroom dancing and I'm a Tumblr junkie.

How did you start making GIFs?

I always thought you needed some magic program to make them but when I discovered you could produce them in Photoshop I decided to give it a go. I learnt just by exploring Google and forums. It's fundamentally quite simple, the complexity begins when you're ideas get more ambitious or if you want it to look very neat. You need a lot of patience and a steady hand.

What’s your all time favourite GIF and GIF designer?

I'd say that WHTEBKGRND and IWDRM are neck and neck for that title. Though technically IWDRM is making Cinemagraphs. And picking a favourite Gif are you insane?! I probably Tweet "Best Gif ever!" once a week but this is a good place to start if you're new to them.

Recent months have seen a return of the GIF as an item of popular discourse and funny thing to drop into an email. What do you put this down to?

They're instantaneous. And the repetition can really push a message. Nothing beats a perfectly placed reaction GIF either. I always joke with my friends that I haven't seen an episode of Ellen in ages but thanks to my Tumblr dashboard I see the best moments as GIF-sets. A GiIF, some subtitles; you get the gist very quickly without hitting play on a clunky video.

Where do you think the art of the GIF maker is going?

Well at the moment - up! But that's not to say this craze will last forever. That said, they're becoming more and more commonplace so maybe the GIF revival is going to stick around. Advertising companies are catching on now and I think there's a lot of potential to produce clever ideas and execute some stunning visuals. The focus should be on quality over quantity. You can't underestimate the value of a perfectly produced GIF; they can really capture peoples imaginations.