Tokyo fashion week is under way, and we’ve asked Misha Janette to report back on the city’s most exciting shows. To see Style.com’s complete Tokyo fashion week coverage, click here.
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo kicked off late Sunday with a “sayonara” show by Mastermind Japan, one of Tokyo’s most successful brands in the new millennium (Karl Lagerfeld is a longtime fan). After fifteen years on the scene, Mastermind is going on an indefinite hiatus, and its luxe skull-embellished leathers and furs will certainly be missed.
Monday marked the first full day of shows, and it proved that the cerebral, moody clothing forged by luminaries such as Yohji Yamamoto is still “in,” contrary to the stream of “kawaii” (or “cute”) Japanese fashion fads of today. Young talent Christian Dada showed an impressive Fall 2013 collection (left) that featured embroidered baroque patterns in gold and black, and pants made of quilted down material that created a blocky, flat silhouette. The shoes were not only outrageously tall but sprouted whole feathered birds made in collaboration with couture cobbler Masaya Kushino.
Dressedundressed’s black, white, and red collection was inspired by vampire B-movie The Hunger, and boasted sharp tailoring on everything from blazers to hoodies. Japan is home to some of the world’s most innovative textile mills, and Tokyo’s designers benefit from being able to work closely with them. Dressed has gone and produced a new wax-coating technique for cotton that makes the fabric look so lightweight, one might think it could float.
Another brand that utilizes Japan’s textiles is Mint Designs, which is famous for engineering “inside-out” jacquards printed with quirky patterns like cartoonish characters or charming phrases. The Fall collection introduced coats adorned with flocked patterns, which turned out to be the titles of past collections such as Happy Mistake. The day closed out with a dramatic show by gothic brand Alice Auaa. Telling the story of a girl who transforms into a spider, the mechanical crinolines and Lolita dresses forged from purple hair provided a delightful spectacle from start to finish. Same goes for the fans in the audience—they dressed to impress the dark side.
—Misha Janette
Photo: Photo: Giovanni Giannoni / Courtesy of WWD.com
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