East-Meets-West Materializes Japanese Design in Tokyo

Christian DadaJapanese label Christian Dada offered a muse-inspired collection for Fall 2015. In a nod to French model-turned-stylist Valentine Fillol-Cordedelier, designer Masanori Morikawa showed his first full womenswear collection last week. Seventies vintage met with Russia-style hats; Western shirts; denim jackets; floor-length floral dresses and an aesthetic accents of the new Saint Laurent-look. A huge fan of Harijuku style and Dadaism - a notion free of imperfections and societal rules (thus, the name Dada), Morikawa's subcultural depiction remained dark but more Eastern European and Americana. Fabric play came in fur hats and leopard collar details, as well as parrot-colored embroidered shirting. Floor-sweeping floral frocks with long arms felt retro-oriental garden. Leather and silk returned as leitmotifs for textiles. Innovative construction came in asymmetrical pleating on skirts and the boxy cut of cropped coats, which could have easily been left full-length for dramatic effect.Hanae MoriCommencing in the Fifties, design veteran Hanae Mori was the first Japanese female designer to show couture in accordance with France's Chambre Syndicale. For Fall, Hanae Mori went New York-regal, appeasing the Upper East Side tastes of the old-school label's high-society clientele. Under new creative director Yu Amatsu, color and structure were paramount in executing an East-meets-West DNA. Promoting commerciality, mix-and-match separates in gray paired with Easter-egg pastels. Opening in cut-out lace, including a sleeveless dress and a motorcycle jacket, what followed was color-blocked dress - slit, paired with flowy, wide-legged pants. Tailored suits starred in wool and short frocks came in geometric prints. Lines zigzagged across blouses, skirts and fur - updating Mori's original lunch-loving socialites.John Lawrence SullivanIt was the Eighties once more at Tokyo fashion week for designer Arashi Yanagawa. Established in 2003, his label John Lawrence Sullivan continued architectural influences, offering 3-D shaped renderings and technical fabrics. Neon primary colors dyed oversized proportions in outerwear for men and women, like the trench in shiny silver leather-look fabric. Tailored separates in boxy silhouettes marched on for the lads, against pantsuits and shift dresses for women. The innovative fabrics came in sporty hybrid tech elements, next to soft lambskin turtlenecks and a dress and skirt constructed from the same leather used for Hermès Kelly bags.FacestasmHiromichi Ochiai sent out complex clothes with a heavy fabric manipulation for Fall 2015. Under the mark of Facetasm, established in 2007, ruffles puffed over pants, skirts and jackets in gargantuan, voluminous silhouettes. Dubbed "Love", pleated skirts, motorcycle jackets, trenches, and bomber jackets came in chorus - the latter in paper-fold shaped sleeves. Woven plaid added a little heritage, used for shirts, jackets, and pants. The intense lighting accented fluoro pinks and greens - the rest of the collection rather patternless and neutrally-toned.