Adeam brings East meets West inspiration to New York Fashion Week

It was a season of anniversary collections at New York Fashion Week. There was Dennis Basso’s 40th, Pamella Roland’s 20th, and Adeam’s 10th.

For her 10th anniversary, Adeam designer Hanako Maeda returned to New York Fashion Week, a city both near and dear to her heart and business. This runway show was the brand’s first in-person show in almost three years. Maeda described this as a homecoming to the city she calls a second home after her home country of Japan.

Maeda wanted to bring her love for both New York and Japan together for this anniversary collection, so she chose Matsuri, the Japanese summer festival, as the inspiration for her spring 2023 collection. East meets west with influences in this collection.

“I took elements, like Japanese woodblock prints, and used those to inspire some of my prints,” Madea said to FashionUnited. “I didn’t want the collection to feel like a costume or something very specific, so I incorporated silhouettes that felt relevant and modern to the global customer.”

Highlights of the collection included oversized ruffles, asymmetrical seams, floral prints inspired by Japanese woodblock, and pleating. Ready-to-wear accessories were also inspired by traditional ways of Japanese dressing. This season, Adeam also introduced a modern version of the Obi, a traditional Japanese belt, as a corset or harness skirt.

As Maeda wants to see where she can take her brand next, her primary focus is global appeal. “Right now, Adeam’s biggest markets are the U.S. and Japan,” she said to FashionUnited. “We also sell in the Middle East and Europe. With this collection, I really had my eye on more of a global audience. I’ve had the privilege of doing a lot of collaborations over the past several years, including designing for the New York City Ballet and a collaboration with tennis player Naomi Osaka. Through all these different projects I’ve grown and learned so much.”