Tokyo style blossoming

By Gordon Kanki Knight
Publisher:The Daily Yomiuri - Publication Date: 12-10-2007

The 'big three' of the fashion weeks--Paris, Milan and New York--are known to propel local designers into the international stage and the recently concluded Japan Fashion Week 2007 may have done exactly that for emerging young Japanese designers.

Held for the first time in Tokyo's new 53-storey Midtown building, the event featured fashion brands like DressCamp, Matohu and Threatre Products, and designers like Ritsuko Shirahama and Matsumoto Ato.

DressCamp, headed by uber talented Bunka Fashion College graduate Toshikazu Iwaya, has found so much success since first showing in 2002, he has decided to jet off overseas. His brand established here, Iwaya will next show his exotic pieces in Paris and the salons of the Palais de la Bourse.

With DressCamp you get exactly what it says on the tin--a lot of dresses and plenty of camp. Iwaya sent his models down the runway in Moroccan-inspired floral prints, and fruity greens and fuchsia, finishing with his piece de resistance, a full-length dress covered top to toe in silk flowers (whoever did the needlework, please take a bow).

Just as theatrical was Akira Takeuchi and Tayuka Nakanishi's Theatre Products show, which had the theme "Honeymoon", and menswear collection Kingly Theatre Products, cannily themed "Vietnam Airlines"--allowing a sponsored brand tie-in. The well-groomed girls and scruffy boys shared the runway, the men in cobalt blue shirts and trousers, the women in florals (including a very cute minidress), bold red and blue cotton shift dresses and plenty of netting, including fishnet sleeves, leggings and shawls. Perhaps the best thing the models wore was a smile--Theatre Products is all about having fun.

Perhaps taking inspiration from London and its jodphur craze, Matsumoto Ato has saddled up for a horsey spring/summer with his brand Ato. His models cantered along in equine-inspired pieces including riding breeches, zip-up jerseys in shimmering racing silk hues of purple, red, blue and yellow, and hunting waistcoats accessorised with lashings of leather straps, belts and buckles. Topping it all off was some horsey headwear in the form of an equestrian hat or jockey's cap. In case anyone missed the visual cues, the shirts featured prints of prancing stallions. The highly wearable pieces are a sure bet for the hotter months. Bold colours--including yellow, tipped by color forecasters to be heading for a revival--were in evidence at many of the shows.

Ritsuko Shirahama showed a short jumpsuit in yellow newsprint fabric, while Ylang Ylang's collection included a fuchsia pencil dress and a canary yellow Greek-style one-shouldered gown.

Inspired by the lavish life of Marie Antoinette, Doho paraded fantasy pieces featuring plenty of ruffles and bows. Do Hyang Ho's Korean models commanded the catwalk, adding even more glamour to the pieces that shimmered in silver, metallic blue and green, and yellow gold. For those days when you need to go straight from the office to the party, Doho's plaid shirt in steel gray and blue, and her green and black striped mini dress are surefire winners. Do's designs add volume in all the right places, so they flatter all shapes and sizes. Let them eat cake indeed.
The cake that fell flat, however, was Matohu. A decade ago, Japanese fashion was criticised for being overly academic, and Matohu had scholarly ideas in spades, all of which looked underwhelming when transferred from the drawing board to the catwalk.

Bunka Fashion College graduates Hiroyuki Horihata and Makiko Sekiguchi based their collection on the expert glazing of Shino tea bowls, but the pieces looked like someone had spilled tea on them. The brown smudged coats, bland grayish-white dresses and trousers and dull green tops served only to prove that intellectualising about fashion is no substitute for knowing what looks good.

A low-key yet successful Japan Fashion Week was closed by the doyenne of the designers showing this year, Hiroko Koshino. Koshino's show was all about elegance, featuring flared skirts and dresses that could be tucked and gathered to alter their appearance. The major trends to emerge from Japan Fashion Week were stripes (Yuge's show was stripe-tastic), checks and lots of bold blues, greens, yellows and fuchsia. But importantly, the shows were all unique, taking inspiration from around the world but not reducing it to East meets West cliche as has occurred in the past. Japan's new breed of designers are ready to take on the world.

foto attached

Attached Images

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I wish there was more photos because the sample is very odd looking.