Tokyo Fashion Week Spring 2015: Part 2

Our city's semi-annual fashion week rages on, with highlights of the last two days including a collection of moody floral print styles, some gorgeous modern kimonos, and a cool, fisherman-inspired collection for men. Read on for more details below.

Johan Ku Gold Label

London based designer Johan Ku has won several awards for his sculpture-like shapes and chunky hand knitted textiles. The brand has created an international reputation for fusing fashion design and art in each collection.

Johan Ku’s Spring 2015 collection commenced with elastic waist, vegan leather Bermuda shorts, double collared floral print blouses and hand crafted, rosebud fabric ornaments adorned to skirts and dresses. The deep colors of midnight blue, plum purple, and moss green exuded a murky, garden-inspired theme to the sequence. Leather was worked into many pieces included peplum tops, skirts, and vests. Floral prints for both men and women were shown on denim jackets, pleated skirts and leggings. The masterpieces of the offering were easily the dresses and tops featuring exceptional flower blossoms, strategically clustered into beautiful bouquets.

Yoshio Kubo

After working for four years alongside haute couture designer Robert Danes, Yoshio Kubo returned to Japan, launching his own line in 2004. Staging his first runway show in 2008, Kubo creates his collections with the intent to make people think and to analyze what they are wearing.

The menswear designer kicked off the runway show with jive music, bearded models, and fashions keeping up with the label’s cool-guy swag reputation. Fishermen’s nets, flags and vintage luggage were used as props to support the “lost sailor at sea” vibe in the series. Camouflage, stripes and flamingo pink floral prints were seen on varsity jackets, blazers, sweatshirts and shorts with suspenders. Fishermen’s vests and netted tops were styled under sports jackets, and the season’s trend of fringe was used on graphic sweatshirts styled under bomber jackets.

In Process by Hall Ohara

Central Saint Martin’s graduates Steven Hall and Yurika Ohara are the masterminds behind the label In Process. The designers both share a love for surrealism and playful techniques towards print making. The premise of their label is “capturing the energy of the garment that is in the process of being made.”

Seeking inspiration from Mexican aesthetics, the designers fused their clean, structured silhouettes with prints and textiles reminiscent of Mexican tiles, stencils and architecture. The label’s staples of shift dresses, cardigans, cropped trousers and clean silhouettes were seen in vivid greens, vibrant colored stripes, and prints with nods to the 60s, as well as the intended Mexican influence. Trendier pieces such as peplum skirts and tops, bomber jackets and fitted pencil skirts modernized the print-centric series.

Jotaro Sansai

Dedicated to bringing kimonos back as an element of everyday fashion, modern day kimono designer Jotaro Saito, collaborated with fellow born Kyoto designer Sansai Saito to create a collection with contemporary prints and modern concepts of beauty.

Taking a page from the 60s and 70s era of Western pop culture, the show began with disco-type lights lining the runway and a backdrop screen of kaleidoscope graphics setting the tone for the show.

Animal themes were first to appear on the runway with ducks, birds, horses and peacocks shown on various kimonos, either singularly as one large graphic or as multiples in print patterns. While bright prints were placed primarily on grays and earth tone hues, vibrant yellows, colorful stripes and floral prints added a lively surprise to the retro series. Stepping into space, a collection of kimonos for both men and women sported solar system motifs. Other nods to current fashion trends such as animal print belts, floral prints and horizontal and vertical stripes were present on many of the looks.

For highlights of the first two days of fashion week, click here.