The first show of the day on Wednesday October 22 was Suzuki Takayuki. His exhibition took place at the Art Complex in Shinjuku and I was extremely lucky to have found it after asking for directions every block along the way!

Suzuki Takayuki graduated from the Tokyo Zokei University with a degree in Graphic Design. He established his own label in 2002 and has been presenting collections at Japan Fashion Week since 2007/2008 A/W. He opened his own shop in the Shibuya PARCO in September 2009 and has since established two other lines, “Ikkuna/suzukitakayuki” and “toha.”

After arriving at the Art Complex I descended a dark, winding staircase to access Takakyuki’s collection in the basement of the Art Complex. I arrived quite early for the first show and had the opportunity to take photos along with other members of the press before the first show began. You had to walk through a curtain to get to his collection which was presented in a room completely draped in white fabric. There was also a stunning mural that covered the entire back wall. The mural consisted of images taken of a dancer in different poses in his clothing. His intention of the mural? To show the movement of clothes, accomplished!

The color scheme of the collection revolved entirely around black and white. The layering of the garments was phenomenal. Exhibitions are great because you are able to see the clothes up close and examine the craftsmanship. The installation, entitled “A Moment,” focused on light, sound, movement and the passing of time. The materials consisted primarily of knit cottons and silks. Key looks included black fitted blazers paired with short skirts of multiple layers as well as full skirts, high collars, and cinched waists. One would think that all these layers would make the garments look bulky but they did not. The draping was also fantastic. Each look was more unique and eye catching than the next, however they were a little heavy for Spring. Perhaps they could be worn as separates. Please visit his website here.

Through the mannequins.

A closer look at the mural.

From afar.

Luxe by Plugin is a special exhibition hosting designers from around the world but especially from Japan. The event took place at Bellesale in Roppongi. The first floor featured clothing and the second featured beauty products and household goods. This was my second time attending the Luxe by Plugin show. Each designer has their own booth and press and visitors can speak with them and look at their collections. There were a few designers I recognized from last year and a few new ones too! The designers were eager to chat and show us their creations. Thanks to all for answering our questions!

Shida Tatsuya

I am really fond of Shida’s work. Last year he presented a collection at the Shinmai Creator’s Project. He is from Shizuoka and he even has a store in my home town city of Numazu! This year he was inspired by ’80s looks and fabrics. He loves dying materials and changing them into his own eclectic creations. His pieces were more subtle this year, geared toward everyday where but just as intricately crafted. Keep your eye out for Shida Tatsuya in the future!

Shida with one of his favorite pieces.

Designer Akiyama started his career working with Issey Miyake in 1979 before establishing his own company, A. WORK STUDIO in 1996. He signed a contract with Sanyo Shokai in 1999 and was chief designer of TAOC. He started his own label, FUMIO in May 2003 and also showed his first collection at Japan Fashion Week. He has been presenting his work at ATMOSPHERE Paris since October 2006. You can visit his website here.

Akiyama cuts and alters fabrics to make unique pieces that are not seen anywhere else in Japan. The material selection and production all take place in Japan. He is incredibly skilled at using materials to mimic others, for instance, there was one beautiful top that was made of polyester but felt like silk! Akiyama usually shows his collection bi-annually in Paris.

Akiyama is known for his
unique three dimensional cuts.

I have never seen any shoes like these before! They are handmade…rightdown to the shoe laces. The theme for this season was taking out the unnecessary parts of shoes. For every different pair of shoes I saw, there was a different design. The looks are originally created perfectly and then altered by distressing afterward.

The designer, Machiko Yoshizoe, was incredibly helpful and eager to talk about the brand. The label’s original inception was geared towards men’s shoes, but since last November they have been designing for women too. She also introduced us to her booth neighbor, Cover.

The Numb Plural Booth.

This label is particularly inspired by Okinawa. The designer, Issei Higa, created the looks using Yukari material. The clothes were immaculately designed and great for casual day wear. Visit the website here.

The designers from Numb Plural
and Numb Shoes together!

More shoes! There were some definite eye-catchers here! There were casual as well as more elegant evening looks. These shoes are produced in Japan and sold at select department stores.

Fabulous boots of course!

Cutting the stone.

Hideaki Sakaguchi graduated with a degree in interior design from Hosei University. He worked at Designers’ Maison before starting JELLY GARCIA in 2002 which he renamed as The Dress and Co. HIDEAKI SAKAGUCHI from ‘09-’10 A/W. Last year he presented his collection at RENDEZ-VOUS, Paris and he has now started to receive orders from stores worldwide! Visit his website here for more information.

I was excited to see what Sakaguchi would do this year! You can see my write up about his collection from last season here. There was a variety of pieces that were very appealing. There were ruffles, jean vests, great blazers and layers upon layers. There were also some great kaki and cord blazers and suits that would work well for office wear in the spring. The make-up was simple and the hair was parted and pulled back. As you can see from the images below, each piece is immaculately designed with incredible attention to detail.

Layers, layers, layers!
Always popular in Japan.

The models walked along a tile
runway.

This look flowed elegantly
down the runway.

Aguri Sagimori

Aguri Sagimori graduated from Vantan Design Institute in 2007. She has won numerous awards including the New Designer Fashion Grand Prix (2007) and the Nagoya Fashion Grand Prix Contest (2007). She showed her first collection at Tokyo Collection Week in March 2008.

After doing some shopping and having a fantastic Indian dinner, we rushed to line up for the Aguri Sagimori show. The line up was very long but we managed to get in and get a good seat about three rows back. You could sense the excitement and anticipation in the audience for this show. Finally, after getting everyone seated, the show began.

The models flew down the runway wearing rhinestones, studs, chains and silver make-up. There were some great trench coats, harem pants and shorts. The sheer fabric and black lace hard edged trends were continued here. One of the designs that stood out the most for this collection was the vests. They barely covered the back. They came just around the point of the shoulder blades. She designed them in a variety of colors and I wanted to wear every one of them!

An amazing purse.

Cool silver vest.

Love this body suit.

G.V.G.V.

MUG graduated from the Kuwasawa Design School and launched G.V.G.V. in 1999. She has presented collections at the Designers Invitation Project held by Uniqlo (2007) and the Designers Invitation for UT (2008). For more information visit here website here.

Last year Treasure Seeker Colleen attended and reviewed this show. You can see the post here. Having missed the show last season, I was eager to see what this season had in store! The show was set in the largest venue Hall at Tokyo Midtown. There were disco balls, flashing spotlights and what looked like glitter everywhere! It was difficult to see in the dark, but it looked like there were upwards of sixty photographers taking pictures.

Again, there were studs, rhinestones and everything was bedazzled. Many of the pieces were white and featured studs. Harem pants, cropped tops, skirts and tasseled pants were styled with high platform peep toe studded boots. The majority of the looks were white however, there were a few blues and blacks thrown into the mix. The clothes would be great for a night out or a fabulous event. The production of the whole show was quite impressive and left us wanting to watch it again!

(Image by Clothes Line Finds)

(Images via JFW)

Li-Fen Anny Chang, Assistant Professor of Fashion Design, created this three-piece ensemble for a women’s career wear competition sponsored by the Queen Sirikit Institute of Sericulture (QSIS) of Thailand. “Color Me Successful” was juried as one of the top 10 designs; the initial jury was a panel from International Textile and Apparel Association (ITAA). The top 10 designs will be exhibited at the Queen Sirikit Peacock Standards of Thai Silk exhibition and ASEAN conference on August 6th to 9th in Bangkok. “Color Me Successful” also receives an “Honorable Mention” recognition from Her Majesty Queen Sirikit of Thailand. The trophy will be presented to Anny in the ITAA’s annual conference in Seattle, October 2009.
The handmade yellow and blue reversible Thai silk with the motif of flowers and stripes was the inspiration, particularly the exotic colors of the yellow side of the fabric. The design details were intended to make wearers seem competent and reliable, yet stylish. The ensemble could be worn with or without the jacket depending on the weather, personal preference, or to suit professional needs. (model: Nikki Trizza, photographer: Job Ruzvidzo)
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-ac

The Nicole Miller dress draped by 2007 graduate, Tori Bleakley, was voted for the “Look of the Day” on July 28th. Visit style.com for the news, http://www.style.
com/community/lookoftheday. From there, click “view the archive” then select July 28th. Congratulations Tori!
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-ac