For what seems like an eternity, kawaii (cute) fashion has ruled the Japanese womenswear roost, and at times it's looked as if we would never see a return to edgy, chic styles.

But the designers are playing their cool cards now, and they brought sexy back in spades for their spring/summer 2013 collections at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo from Oct. 13-20.

One of the top collections came from Mintdesigns, which is known for colorful, smile-inducing prints and a happy, bouncy runway. This time, though, they turned over a new leaf and brought out a show titled "The Darkside Issue" that included severely monotone patterns of a firing-range bullseye of a rabbit and cascading chairs in metallic jacquards that was brilliantly surreal. "We celebrated our 10th anniversary last season and it was time to try something different," said designer Nao Yagi.