by Kelly Wetherille
The 9th Japan Fashion Week (JFW) kicked off yesterday with shows by some of Japan’s most beloved designers, followed by an opening reception, party and show. Highlights of the first day included Dress33, designed by Toshikazu Iwaya, founded of the cult brand DRESSCAMP. The show was fun and colorful, with lots of metallic details and quirkily futuristic looks. Motonari Ono stuck to his usual trick of adding lingerie-like detailing to give a feminine edge to menswear-inspired pieces.
Today marked the second day of the event, starting off with SOMARTA’s show at Tokyo Midtown. The show started in a train station with travel outfits and slowly moved to a much more romantic mood as the journey began, with flower-inspired pieces taking center stage. The landscape print silk dresses were well-received, and pieces made of artificial flower petals knitted together had the crowd buzzing.
As its name would suggest, Theatre Products can usually be counted on to deliver a bit of drama, but for spring Akira Takeuchi and Takuya Nakanishi showed a somewhat toned-down collection with lots of girly details (bows, ruffles, lace, parasols) in a neutral palette. Trendy G.V.G.V. had an 80s rock vibe, with models sashaying down the runway in white leather and studs to classic hip hop, with no less than 42 disco balls glittering above them.
For more updates check back here daily, and for more in-depth coverage see the November 6 issue of Weekender.
