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subscribe to style file blog via RSSThey’re Big In Japan
February 19, 2010 5:06 pm
Japan fashion week isn’t yet on the American radar the way that London, Milan, and Paris are, but the JFW Organization hopes to change all that. In partnership with the Japan External Trade Organization, JFW flew eight Japan-based labels to New York for a preview of the country’s fashion week (held in Tokyo from March 22 to 28) and to introduce them to the U.S. buying market. The participating lines—aptform, CHAOLU lab, MIKIO SAKABE, Naoshi Sawayanagi, SHIDA TATSUYA, The Dress & Co. HIDEAKI SAGAGUCHI, tiny dinosaur, and Yu—are almost unknown in the States (indeed, some are very little known yet in their own country), but judging from the offerings last night at the Soho preview, they’ll find a receptive audience. Looks ranged from cute, slightly ragged layered frocks at The Dress & Co. to darkly romantic tailored pieces from MIKIO SAKABE, but the most impressive were the menswear options from the Greece-born, London-educated Michail Gkinis at aptform. With techy fabrics (including a wool/polyurethane blend that’s woven, then heat-pressed to create a delicate, lightweight suiting fabric that won’t fray even at its cut edges) and intricate processes (hand-knitting leather strips into chunky woolens), Gkinis’ collection is both futuristic and iconoclastically craft-focused. With its dark palette, long lines, and exaggerated details, aptform brings to mind Rick Owens and the sadly shuttered, critically beloved Cloak. It’s already picked up one high-profile account: Chicago’s womenswear mecca Blake, which will stock the Fall collection in girl-friendly sizes.
tags: aptform, CHAOLU lab, MIKIO SAKABE, Naoshi Sawayanagi, SHIDA TATSUYA, The Dress & Co. HIDEAKI SAGAGUCHI, Tiny Dinosaur, Yu
