Highlights: Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo and Shibuya Fashion Week FW22

Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo fall and winter 2022 is taking place from March 14 to 19, at the main venues of Shibuya Hikarie, the Omotesando Hills, and various other locations chosen by individual brands. Japan has been working on slowly returning to a post-pandemic world as Tokyo Fashion Week returned to mostly in-person shows for the first time in two years. A total of 54 mostly homegrown brands unveiled their fall collections with 30 designers holding physical shows including Toga which celebrated its 25th anniversary Masatomo Agari which held its first ever runway, and globally renowned brand Tomo Koizumi. Since international travel is still limited, brands such as Bed J.W. Ford collaborated with Launchmetrics on a show using 4D volumetrics that enhanced the experience for those joining virtually. FashionUnited rounded up notable FW22 collections from Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo and Shibuya Fashion Week.

Living in a futuristic dystopia

For the first time ever, Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo has made a season promotion movie, created by an aspiring new artist, Nishina, and her latest single, Slow Motion, along with the illustrations by Gaako, an illustrator gathering attention with her unique worldview. In one scene, the animation depicts Shibuya in the background, depicting a girl living in a futuristic dystopia, always changing. Accompanied by an official statement released on its YouTube channel, the theme for TFW FW22 encapsulates this feeling: “Today, as the world surrounding us continues to change daily, conventional ordinary has become unordinary, with the way one carries themselves, the way one faces others, each personʼs sense of distance is changing at the pace of each individual.”

Malion vintage: upcycled and unisex

Designers Eriko Ishida and Aki Shimizu created their brand Malion vintage drawing from the names ‘Maria’ and ‘Mario’ to signify the unisex aesthetic their label embodies. They both met while working at an apparel brand called Cher where Ishida was a buyer and store manager. Together they realized their passion for breathing life into the good old things that someone has treasured before, thus establishing their upcycle label Malion vintage in 2016. The brand’s FW22 collection opened with a genderless sheer top and an array of fabrics ranging from crochet and pleats to patterns sewn together, giving these once cherished clothing a rebirth.

Worldly and classic tailoring by Hiroko Koshino

An internationally known designer, Hiroko Koshino was the first Japanese designer to participate in the Alta Moda in Rome in 1978. Today, she has six women’s ready to wear lines - Hiroko Koshino Couture, Hiroko Koshino Premier, Hiroko Koshino, Trunk, and Hiroko BIS, re: edition project 165 - and her creations retail in 170 stores within Japan and overseas. For the FW22 collection, Koshino’s designs are sophisticated and classic, drawing from traditional Japanese geometric tailoring with a contemporary flair. Knits, kimono inspired fabric and ethnic accents added a worldly ambience to Koshino’s fall 2022 collection.

“Bosozoku” biker gang style by Maison Shun Ishizawa

Established in 2012 by designer Shun Ishizawa, Maison Shun Ishizawa draws its inspiration from the pursuit of sophisticated martial arts by discovering the refined elegance hidden in masculine ruggedness that he hopes fascinates people. From Ishikari City, Hokkaido, Ishizawa has won awards such as the YKK Fastening Award and Soen Award as a student at the Hokkaido Bunka Fashion College. This season’s collection is a mix of leather, traditional Japanese embroidery, denim and rockabilly hairstyles which pays homage to the “Bosozoku” biker gang subculture from 1950s Japan-Maison Shun Ishizawa’s FW22 collection is aptly named Bontang Hanter. The designer’s exhibition will be held at Rental space Sakura Harajuku Takeshita exit BF from March 22 to 24.

Photos: Rakuten Fashion Week Tokyo's website, Hiroko Koshino's website