As womenswear was getting a boy-meets-girl makeover
for fall/winter, menswear seemed to be getting dragged in the same
direction. A handful of important fashion innovators showed their
masculine sides alongside similarly styled ladies lines at the Tokyo
collections this season, with the resultant androgynous look a defining
trend.
Bare chests appeared in both bleak and boisterous collections, while
hair was long and unkempt. Typical Tokyo looks included twisted
tailoring, oversized hooded parkas, and combat pants in cleverly
layered combinations, while roughed-up denim and shiny satins were
key fabrics.
Monochrome androgyny
S.T.A.F.
Satoru Tanaka
ato
The most exciting debut of the season took place
on the windswept rooftop of Soho’s Omotesando. Here, S.T.A.F.
Satoru Tanaka sent out stunning slimline suits in black with a sagging
parachute silk lining that made it look as though crinkled carrier
bags had been stitched inside the jackets. Sophisticated urban edginess
was the message here as models sullenly stomped down a runway eerily
illuminated by fluorescent lamps.
Also pushing a minimalist black-and-white sartorial look was internationally
acclaimed menswear venture ato. The Tokyo style scene scored a coup
here as the label—long since a regular fixture on the Paris
off-schedule shows—came back into the fold, bucking the trend
for top designers defecting in the opposite direction. The brand’s
slick tailoring with ultra-slim ties featured futuristic elements
like padded patches, PVC panels, zippers and mesh. Trench coats,
military boots and tape trailing down to the concrete floor perfected
the stark, seductive styling.
High impact
Malkomalka
In contrast to the stoicism on view elsewhere,
newcomers Malkomalka by Yuri & Chika rocked the Tokyo fashion
scene with their outrageous clothing in slinky, lustrous fabrics
with bold, splashed-on prints. The styling was a key point here
as black fedoras were tipped over one eye and looks got camped up
with diamante brooches, gold chains and frilly, silken sashes.
At Frapbois, celebrated designer Eri Utsugi also opted for bright
colors, eschewing her signature palette of understated pastels in
favor of deep purple, orange and lime green. The loose-fitting loser
looks were expertly executed in manmade fabrics that looked better
suited to nightwear, while the loafers in magnolia patent leather
topped off the outlandishly cool collection.
Autodidact designer Kohshin Satoh boasts†Andy Warhol among
his list of celebrity clients past and present and his long-running
collections always pack a heavy punch. Here he took black as the
cornerstone of another wild and wacky lineup of†ragged denim,
fur and†rubber that was certainly not for the faint of heart.
Rustic rock chic
The classic costumes of biker, soldier and buccaneer underwent a
Tokyo street style renovation under the microscope of fashion genius
Mihara Yasuhiro and his finely tuned deconstruction process. Plaids
and denim were central features of the rustic production, while
infantrymen’s zip-up parkas in desert khaki, frock coats and
various numbers in quilted violet satin were all perfectly weighted.
Mihara’s specialty is leatherwear and the gloves, blousons
and beat-up-looking boots represented some of his finest work to
date.
Bucolic streetwear was also the order of the day at Kiminori Morishita
Tete Homme. Staged in the underground parking lot at the foot of
Tokyo Tower, chandeliers cast a calm light over the collection’s
rock star chic. This season, military and workwear-inspired details,
distressed denim, and zip-up outers all played crucial roles. The
juxtaposition of contrasting fabrics was a key styling feature as
tough leathers were matched with free-and-easy sweatpants and jeans
with knitted jackets. MW
Photo credits:
S.T.A.F. Satoru Tanaka modernlifeis
ato courtesy of ato
Malkomalka modernlifeis
Frapbois courtesy of BIGI
Mihara Yasuhiro modernlifeis
Kiminori Morishita Tete Homme courtesy of Tete Homme
Kohshin Satoh courtesy of Koshin Satoh
This season’s brightest young designers gave Tokyo
a boost in its quest for style capital status. Martin Webb
gets the rundown on the runways.
This is as good as it gets, or at least as good as the Tokyo
collections have ever been. The city’s up-and-coming
creators have still yet to make a serious impact on the overseas
market, but buyers from boutiques all over Japan were thrilled
with the saleable selections on show this season. One of the
many buyers ready to snap up the best of the creations after
the shows was Yasuyuki Nagano from trend-setting Kyoto boutique
Device. Nagano spent the month of April shuttling between
his shop and Tokyo. “Our store hasn’t really had
much of an interest in the Tokyo collections until this season,”
he says. “But the standards here have reached an impressive
level. We’re sure that our fashion-savvy customers would
love to wear innovative home-grown brands like Malko Malka,
Hisui and Dress Camp.”
This season didn’t mark a fait accompli for Tokyo, but
after storming performances from heavyweights like Mihara
Yasuhiro, Frapbois and vetement, plus strong showings from
relative newcomers mint designs, Akiko Ogawa and Dress Camp,
the future looks bright for designers at the forefront of
Japanese fashion.
Chiyuki
Mihara Yasuhiro
Mint Designs
a Primary Akiko Ogawa
Dress Camp
Malkomalka by Yuki &
Chika
Frapbois
Vetement
Hisui
Triptych
Chiyuki
Chiyuki Sugimoto took his romantic drifter look to a new
level in this collection entitled “Innocent Beauty.”
Street lamps lined the runway, enhancing the charming elegance
shown through hand-embroidered flower motifs, delicately gathered
pants, and luxurious fur-trimmed leather jackets. Immaculately
styled and smartly presented, this was Tokyo’s most sophisticated
take on the dreamy bohemian trend.
Mihara Yasuhiro
Darling of the Tokyo fashion scene Mihara Yasuhiro opted for
a lavish production staged at the foot of Tokyo Tower to present
his bucolic cowboy-meets-Tokyo underground collection. Layers
of checked shirts, deep blue denim and khakis all subjected
to a neo-classic revamp a la Yasuhiro hit the bull’s-eye,
but the real smash here was the selection of beat-up leatherwear,
including jackets, boots, gloves and coats. Be prepared for
Mihara’s floppy, wide-brimmed hats to be everywhere this
fall.
Mint Designs
The three impeccably well-qualified designers behind Mint
Designs took their subtle anti-fashion statement one step
further with a storming collection staged in favorite foreigner
haunt Aux Bachanales. The trio’s clever prints –
this time featuring giant ants – stole some of the limelight
from the beautifully executed knitwear in a palette of muted
pastels that was the main thrust of the collection.
a Primary Akiko Ogawa
A high octane stream of sharply tailored looks in any color
as long as it was black, this show was an epiphany for Akiko
Ogawa. Hotly tipped for the Moet et Chandon Best New Designer
prize, it’s no wonder her clothes are flying off the
shelves in top department stores on three continents. The
raunchy bikinis, studded belts and high-heeled boots made
this the most daring show seen on the Tokyo catwalk this season.
Dress Camp
More gorgeous, feminine styling from butch creator Toshikazu
Iwaya’s Dress Camp label walked down the catwalk as pleats,
frills, spangles and diamante jazzed up barely-there party
frocks and revealing blouses. Models got diamond studs on
their teeth, storming down the catwalk with plenty of attitude.
The brand’s signature prints came in a kaleidoscope of
candy colors, while dyed fur coats in pink and blue were pure
Hollywood pop bitch.
Malkomalka by Yuki & Chika
St. Martin’s College London graduates Yuri and Chika
held their outrageous spectacular in a Roppongi nightclub.
The cream of Tokyo’s glamour set was there to witness
the dazzling big-shoulder-silhouette ’80s numbers in
glossy black and white satin, all given pink, black and gold
paint splashes. Diamante brooches, fedoras and tops hats dripping
with gold chains were the highlights to this noisy, gaudy
extravaganza.
Frapbois
Eri Utsugi’s Frapbois continues to push the boundaries
of downbeat Tokyo style. Here, drop-out loser look models
with speech bubbles painted on their faces traipsed down the
runway in the brand’s signature loose and grungy layered
looks including baggy bomber jackets, slouchy hooded tops
and tapered pants.
Vetement
Intellectual craftsman extraordinaire Noaki Mizuno excelled
himself here with a moody selection of frayed and unfinished
fabrics and tartans that were heaped up and bunched up with
safety pins and leather buckles. Chunky, low-gauge knitted
scarves added extra bulk while the opaque tights worn with
army boots looked sure to be a hit with styling Tokyo femmes
fatales.
Hisui
Hiroko Ito went for the theme ‘Future-ish’, showing
innovative sci-fi looks in jersey, and lacquer-look fabrics.
In a prolific exploration of the theme, Hisui’s specialty
prints depicted hazy constellations while snug-looking quilted
jackets and high-tech, gem-inlaid brooches enhanced the look.
Triptych
Cutting-edge boutique WR unveiled its fledgling Triptych brand
with finesse this season, showing asymmetrical layered ensembles
in glittery woolens, leather and frayed denim. The innovation
here was that what seemed like several layers worn over one
another was actually a single garment.
