The Fall 2005 season saw the Tokyo Collections in a sorry state.
While other cities pool resources and find sponsors or funding for compact, high-impact fashion weeks, the Japanese capital's shoddy event remains shunned by the fashion world. Consequently, homegrown hopefuls with innovative, high-quality creations continue to abandon Japan for Europe at the earliest opportunity -- weakening Tokyo's pulling power even more.
With little new or exciting appearing in the womenswear shows, it's a good job Tokyo mixes collections for both guys and girls into its haphazard, six-week-long fashionistas' lovefest unlike Paris and Milan which have events dedicated exclusively to menswear. Right now, the Tokyo Collections' saving grace are a new crop of menswear designers who are making the most of their proximity to the most fashion-forward male consumers on the planet.
At the cutting edge of Japan's 3.5 trillion yen market for men's clothing, several young designers are getting away with some wacky creations that couldn't possibly hope to sell to anyone but this extremely open-minded fashion fraternity.
"Young Japanese men spend far more on their clothes than their European or American counterparts," says Risa Okamura, editor of Tokyo-based Fashion News magazine. "Many of them take risks and experiment to a degree not seen anywhere else. They are supporting several designers who would be seen as very specialist overseas."
Foremost among these daring young creators is Taishi Nobukuni, a graduate of London's St. Martin's fashion college whose outre apparel has been on sale in his I Don't Give a Shit boutique in Tokyo's Nakameguro district since 2000.
Last season, Nobukuni was appointed creative director at Takeo Kikuchi, one of Japan's longest-standing and best-known menswear labels. Since then, two high-octane runway shows replete with animal masks, fake mustaches, Napoleon hats and tuxedo jumpsuits have thrust the formerly fusty brand back into the spotlight.
Last week Nobukuni debuted his signature line on the Tokyo catwalk to critical acclaim, with trippy geometric-patterned knitwear, pink knee-length boots and tights decorated with lightning bolts among the many unconventional pieces on show.
The 34-year-old designer, who says he coordinates outfits in his dreams, says his fashion-school experience has been vital. "Back in those days, I learned to visualize the person, not just the clothes," he explains. "Without that experience, I couldn't divide myself between these two collections."
Overachiever Nobukuni isn't the only upcoming designer in Tokyo to have graduated from a fashion school overseas; Gentaro Noda, designer of the Iliad label, also studied in Britain, and Whereabouts' Hidetaka Fukuzono learned his craft at Antwerp's top fashion school.
In general, though, Tokyo differs greatly from the rest of the world in that most of its successful designers have never come out of fashion academies. The creators behind big-selling brands like Number (N)ine, Mister Hollywood and Lad Musician are all self-taught, but Fashion News editor Okamura says that their work remains inventive and rigorous despite their lack of formal qualifications. "In Tokyo, I don't think designers who have no formal training deserve less respect than those who do."
However, two of Tokyo's most popular new runway brands are run by autodidacts. Although fashion snobs may sniff at their work, former buyer Satoru Tanaka has built a solid fan base for the minimalist punk-rock looks of his eponymous label, while Soe designer Soichiro Ito is adored for the slapdash wildchild looks he creates.
Like any self-starter, Tanaka is learning on the job -- his clothes edge closer to a passable level of sophistication each season -- but most importantly he has an instinct for what hip Japanese kids want to wear.
Meanwhile Ito, for his latest collection, took fall's most important menswear trend -- dressed-down British country looks -- then scruffed it up some more with bobble hats and tinfoil facemasks and plenty of deconstructed pieces to compound the chaos.
Another brand with an interesting interpretation of the tweedy British traditional look was Mon tsuki. The label is designed by 15-year industry veterans Takehiro Nagasawa and Shintaro Fujikawa who belong to neither the returning graduate camp nor the learn-as-you-go school of design. As graduates of Tokyo Mode Institute they represent Japan's own fashion education system. Having only branched out into menswear last year, they impressed Okamura and other critics this season with their colorful hunting and fishing looks that provided welcome relief from Tokyo's predominantly dark and moody vibe.
These collections certainly aren't going to have overseas editors and buyers speed-dialing their travel agents for seats on the next flight to Tokyo, but at least they are allowing Japan to put a brave face on the abysmal condition of its flagship fashion event.
