RAKUTEN TOKYO FASHION WEEK – AUTUMN WINTER 2022: End of Week Report

by Cecile Paul · Published March 22, 2022 · Updated February 23, 2023

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Rakuten TOKYO Fashion Week Showcased Sculptural Ready-to-Wear Silhouettes, Harajuku-esque Streetwear and Vintage-Inspired Offerings.

All Image and Video Credit Rakuten Tokyo Fashion Week, Rakuten Tokyo Facebook and Participating Designers

Sculptural and theatrical – at Big Design Award

Another magical fashion week is over! As the Rakuten Autumn Winter 2022 shows in Tokyo drew to a close it’s time to take stock and rekindle the highlights of our favourite collections over the course of a crazy, jam-packed, awe-inspiring week.

Tokyo is world famous for its extraordinary and innovative street fashion (think bold and cutting-edge Harajuko-style). Similarly Tokyo Fashion Week has its very own, magical character – from the sensational quality of the collections themselves to the wonderfully mad, kitsch and colourful street style surrounding the shows. To boot Japanese fashion has always boasted a very solid design, craftsmanship and natural fabric basis, and this was to be seen in many of the cleverly designed, tactile collections. The whole event was a feast for the eyes and one wished you could get up close and personal with the fabrics, they wanted to be touched!

And of course there are the all-important fashion trends that make Tokyo stand out from its global counterparts in the merry-go-round of Fall fashion weeks. This season was no exception: the clothes were bold and brave, they were an eclectic mix of the sculptural and tactile, the gritty and grungy, the dramatic and fun, the sporty and utilitarian. The trends – generally inspired by everyday life in Tokyo – ranged from oversized hoodies to bucket hats, from copious quantities of tartan and plaid to deconstructed trench coats. And there were plenty vintage-inspired collections, with many designers re-using vintage clothing and fabrics to create altogether new, exciting collections. There were anime accessories and prints and martial arts-inspired streetwear, wide legged trousers and skinny jackets, plenty silver and metallics, camouflage in every shade and guise and some eye-popping 3-D knitwear too …

It was mad and wonderful and super exciting and we can’t WAIT for the next Japanese instalment! But … the fun isn’t quite over yet, join us while we marvel over a few of our favourite finds towards the end of Tokyo Fashion Week.

Tomo Koizumi

Known for his sculptural, larger-than-life creations, Tomo Koizumi has scooped up numerous awards locally and on the international arena: at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 he was famously in charge of the costume for the singer of the national anthem. These creations are theatrical and fun, with layers and layers of gathered tulle shaping these fabulous textured ballgowns.

A symphony of tulle – at Tomo Koizumi

Sculptural and dramatic – at Tomo Koizumi

Megmiura Wardrobe

This brand was launched in 2016 and has since made a name for itself by creating very distinctive, androgynous silhouettes that are also completely ageless. We love the ingenious use of colour blocking as well as their treatment of one of the huge trends for Fall 2022: plaid-on-plaid, which is brilliantly utilised in many of Megmiura Wardrobe’s Fall collection. The use of patchwork techniques to create unique texture surface designs works very well too.

Plaid, pinstripes and colour blocking – at Megmiura Wardrobe

Plaid on plaid – at Megmiura Wardrobe

Patchwork and a bucket hat – at Megmiura Wardrobe

A trench coat with different proportions – at Megmiura Wardrobe

Toga

Toga showed their first collection at Tokyo Fashion week in 1999 and has won numerous awards and accolades since, and has also been showing at London Fashion Week since 2014. A very accomplished brand, Toga impressed us yet again with its extraordinary wizardry when it comes to colour and its beautifully tailored, yet slightly off-beat pieces that will most certainly stand the test of time.

Stunning colour blocking and sequins – at Toga

A chartreuse sweater and pointy shoes – at Toga

A modern silhouette and fabulous colour combinations – at Toga

Support Surface

With their voluminous silk skirts, satin and silk printed dresses and asymmetrical knits, Support Surface’s collection is elegant and bohemian and super easy to wear.

Watch Support Surface’s show here:

A stunning floral printed satin dress – at Support Surface

A voluminous brocade skirt and slashed sweater – at Support Surface

Mintdesigns

Hokuto Katsui and Nao Yagi graduated from Central Saint Martins College and launched this wonderful brand in 2001. Mintdesign’s collections are characteristically fresh and inspired, their timeless prints and accompanying knits a feast for the eye.

Fabulous colours and a lacy petticoat and sweater – at Mintdesigns

Fragile lace – at Mintdesigns

Asymmetry and subtle shades – at Mintdesigns

Goia Pan

The queen of textures, Goia Pan’s Fall 2022 collection is elegant, retro, romantic and classy. Navigating the colour spectrum between black and olive green, the silhouettes are simplistic yet full of wonderful details, like the embroidered flowers and bows that decorate the pieces. This is haute couture at its most wearable.

Wonderful surface patterns – at Goia Pan

An inspired ballgown with graphic patterns – at Goia Pan

Cheeky bow-tying – at Goia Pan

CFCL

Following a timeless approach and ethos, CFCL stands for ‘Clothing For Contemporary Life’ and simplicity, modesty and responsibility are indeed the values this brand for men and women stands for. CFCL’s knitwear silhouettes are sculptural and sleek, their design-process is admirably forward-thinking and environmentally-friendly. As for the collection, we simply adore the innovative colour blocking combinations and the little bucket hats – a trend we’ve spotted all over Rakuten Tokyo Fall 2022.

An inspired pink and red colour blocking silhouette – at CFCL

Fluted sleeves in this black, petrol blue and pink ensemble – at CFCL

Tulip shaped – at CFCL

Big Design Award

Six extraordinarily diverse and super talented fashion designers from 4 corners of the globe (based in London – most of them have their training at Central St Martins in common) have put together these avant-garde collections. This is exciting, forward-thinking design at its very best.

A duvet dress – at Big Design Award

Padded sculpture – at Big Design Award

Slashed and padded sleeves – at Big Design Award

Camouflage and dip-dye – at Big Design Award

Knitted leggings and a deconstructed jacket – at Big Design Award

An oversized parka with exaggerated sleeves – at Big Design Award

A fabulous knitted sweater with fleece trousers – at Big Design Award

Blackmeans

Leather, denim, plaid and tartan all got the Blackmeans treatment – ripped, shredded, reworked, zipped, pocketed, embroidered, embellished, studded and strapped! It’s a visual streetwear feast for the eyes. We absolutely adore the leather suits in all their different guises and shades.

Ripped denim – at Blackmeans

Plaid on plaid – at Blackmeans

All leather – at Blackmeans

Patchwork leather – at Blackmeans

Cossack trousers and a studded leather jacket – at Blackmeans

Pillings

Knitwear gets the intarsia treatment, it gets ripped, deconstructed, embellished and embroidered. Pillings go to great lengths to achieve their signature avant-garde knitwear masterpieces, here creativity knows no bounds! We have many favourites but the ultimate pick has to be the super quirky insect and lobster piece!

A deconstructed shapes – at Pillings

Moths, insects and lobsters embellish this jumper – at Pillings

Inspired intarsia – at Pillings

A sweater that tells a story – at Pillings

Yoshiokubo

Al one can say is, ‘WOW!’ Breathtakingly sculptural, these ensembles verge on being pure works of art.

A sculptural piece with its oversized horns and cleft shoes – at Yoshiokubo

Pays des Fees

Always quirky, always theatrical, Pays des Fees wowed again this season with their dramatic pieces that are most certainly not intended for the faint-hearted. We adore the tongue-in-cheek sunshine yellow ‘skulls and eyes’ dress.

Tongue-in-cheek chic – at Pays des Fees

Fruity colours and silver platforms – at Pays des Fees

Nisai

Nisai makes one-off garments and each is a special little artwork in its own right.

Most of the pieces are handmade and hand-painted and reconstructed with used clothing materials. Over 1500 one-of-a-kind pieces have been made and sold to date! We love the endearing quality, love and care that has gone into producing every single item. A true testament to sustainability!

Watch Nisai’s show here:

A one-off patchwork sweater – at Nisai

Sustainable creations – at Pays des Fees

Deconstructed and upcycled magic – at Pays des Fees

Malion Vintage

So in tune with the zeitgeist of recycling and upcycling, Malion Vintage does just that: they give ‘old’ things a new lease of life. We love the wonderful silk and tweed patchwork effects and the ingenious use of ties to create tops and skirts.

Patchwork magic – at Malion Vintage

Ties shape a brand new ensemble – at Malion Vintage

Tweed patchwork – at Malion Vintage

Elegant satin patchwork – at Malion Vintage

Requal

It is befitting to say goodbye to Rakuten Tokyo Autumn Winter 2022 with a few pieces from a collection that represents the ethos of the famous fashionable streets of Harajuku, and one that is completely in tune with the 2022 ethos of recycling and repurposing: the inimitable Requal.