Think Zen: the spirit of darkness; the essence of white. This was one of the main themes from Tokyo's fashion designers, who have just presented their Spring/Summer 2003 collections.

Organized by the Council of Fashion Designers, Tokyo, the event brought together about 50 of Japan's established -- as well as up-and-coming -- designers for more than two weeks of shows at various venues around the city.

Some of the best pieces on the runways this season are simple, yet also startling.

At the Jun Ashida, Miss Ashida, Eri Matsui and Hiroko Koshino shows, to name but a few, bold black-and-white creations took center stage.

At some shows it was the elegance and beauty of garments that stood out, but at Novespazio it was the see-through chiffon tops and the hot pants on models with attitude that drew attention.

The graphic use of black and white manifested itself in several shows, and two in particular spring to mind: Miss Ashida and Eri Matsui. Ashida presented at Ebisu Garden Hall, while Matsui showed at the shooting range of the All-Japan Archery Club, as this time around the inspiration for her collection came from archery.

Matsui said she was "impressed by the beauty and seriousness of kyudo (Japanese archery)."

"I wanted to create something that took into account Japanese culture and the spirit of Japanese craftsmanship," she added. "While thinking about these two things, I also wanted to create something that captured an essence of 'Japaneseness' and transform it into modern fashion. I found that I was able to create pieces in which the beauty lay in the geometric patterns" -- a reference to the origamilike masterpieces that graced the stage. "I was able to express the dignified nature of kyudo through these designs."

That they were dignified is without question. One only has to look at the delicate forms created by folding, pleating and layering to appreciate the quality of Matsui's creations.

Aside from black and white, the colors on Matsui's palette were bold -- fuschia, cobalt, tomato and hyacinth -- and she lined some dresses with vermilion.

Despite her creativity, Matsui currently has only two outlets: her flagship boutique on Kotto-dori in Minami-Aoyama, and another at Isetan department store in Shinjuku. "At the moment I am not selling overseas, but if I get an offer . . . "

Tae Ashida, who designs the Miss Ashida line, is also onto a winner (again) and some of the highlights from her show included: jungle-friendly camouflage print culottes, minis and sleeveless vests; zebra-stripe jackets; floral- and optical-print cocktail dresses; and, for evening wear, one-shoulder dresses in pastels and others with halter necks.

One of the last pieces she sent out -- and one of the best -- was a one-shoulder cocktail dress with a white bustier enhanced with bias spangle stripes. Below this was a sheath of shimmering black sequins.

Another garment in her show worthy of note was a fitted, white rayon jacket with angled lines of embroidery, beads and sequins across the front.

Accessories included narrow, silver chokers instead of collars on some dresses, and sparkling crystal "neckties" which joined the chokers to halter tops.

Her father, Jun Ashida, showed more than 80 pieces, of which the most eye-catching was a black, sleeveless polyester/cotton sheath dress incorporating a small white yoke that buttoned diagonally across the top.

Lots of sparkle and spangle in his collection, with metallic organdy, lame and luxurious fabrics, including silk, cashmere and taffeta.

Hiroko Koshino closed out her show with skirts in a sparkling nylon/satin mix with graphic sumie brush strokes. The show was also notable for its geometric shapes and origamilike designs. The "deconstructed" theme, characterized by raw hemlines, was also seen in many pieces.

Yuki Torii also applied deconstructed principles to many pieces in her collection. At the same time, she sent out lots of frills, floral prints, crocheted tops and bouquets of appliqued real flowers, together with mannish ripped jeans, cummerbunds and matador pants.

Delicate, traditional Chinese crocheting added visual beauty to the edges of pale-blue linen jackets as well as to jeans. Her double-washed, vintage-look blue denim, used for jackets and grunge-look jeans, comes with built-in designer holes at no extra cost.

Very feminine were the wide collars with floral cutwork on linen blouses. Accessories for these pieces included sparkling brooches at the throat and narrow, gray leather belts adorned with strings of blue and opaque glass beading.

Finally, Noboru Yamafuji's fast-paced Novespazio show was the sexiest presentation of the season -- with great clothes to boot.

Models with attitude striding down the runway, with eyes that could slice through stone and nary a smile from start to finish. Tough-looking girls!

Birds were the theme of this collection, and he sent out light and airy, feather-photo print chiffon tops; peacock-eye designs on chiffon, tunic tops; and pale-gray trousers with sequined, feather-photo print patterns.

Also on the runway were wrapped coat-dresses in soft pink covered with embossed 3-D circles, and simple, champagne-sheath dresses hung on diamante shoulder straps.

Zen . . . and then some.