Black isn’t just a color, it’s also the absence of light.
That was the first thing that came to mind when a red glow appeared in the dark at Noir Kei Ninomiya. But musings about light were nipped in the bud soon enough.
The first look turned out to be a thicket of stylized floral shapes lit crimson from the inside. After it came a giant wireframe structure of a flower in full bloom.
After the show, the Japanese designer told editors the rose was one of the ideas of the season, but that it had “many meanings or images.”
Flowers were everywhere, from XXL petals paired with novel-for-Ninomiya hoodie-like shapes to carnation-like flurries thrown over many varieties of tweaked tailored elements, such as a trompe-l’oeil suit that was actually a lightweight duster or double layer shorts and upside-down shirts.
The romantic connation of roses was also explored, particularly through lip motifs, no doubt inspired by the way petals had been pressed for color in early beauty products. They appeared as articulated leather trellises slipped over bouffant tops and trousers or the lapel of a biker jacket.
There were also other expressions of romanticism, from a revisited tailcoat to the final section of frothy white looks.
He went on to say he had wanted to explore fresh directions but not complete novelty, updating existing materials with, say, a dip in glossy resins and beads.
After veering down the garden path with extensive explorations of color and even knit in recent seasons, the spring collection read like a return to his old turf.
Still thriving there was the perennial Noir balance between conceptual cocoons and well-cut fare that may bloom on retail racks.
