An accomplished classical ballerina, Chika Kisada creates clothes with an urban sensibility inspired by dance and music. For her first showing during Tokyo Fashion Week, she sent out street-ready looks that redefined elements of typical dance costumes: ruffles, pleated skirts, and lots and lots of tulle.
In the usual ballet colors of white, black and pink, Kisada crafted looks that exemplified a modern notion of femininity: baggy pants, shirts with puff sleeves, ruffles and peplums, and calf-length tulle skirts that were open in the front. A black blouson jacket with a tulle overlay, a long, open-knit sweater dress, and a series of voluminous, gathered tulle dresses represented some of the edgier pieces, while a shapeless floral print frock felt too matronly amongst the rest of the offering.
Kisada closed her show with a masked model in a giant, bubblegum-pink tutu and silky ruffled top. After making her way just halfway down the runway, she returned to the end, where she played a quick, upbeat song on the piano before the lights went down.

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In the short two seasons since it began showing during Tokyo Fashion Week, Acuod by Chanu has become known for the impressive hip-hop-inspired performances that precede its runway presentations. In this regard, the latest show didn’t disappoint, as it opened with a skilled beatboxer accompanying a world champion animation dancer. But when the opening act overshadows the main event, you know you may have a problem.
South Korean designer Chanwoo Lee is inspired by street culture, including hip-hop and punk influences. He said after his show that he wants to make a streetwear brand that people could wear to a wedding.
Lee turned out a series of black-and-white, zipper-embellished jackets and sweatshirts for both men and women. Some of the zippers were functional, allowing panels of metallic-coated nylon organdy to be removed and even for sleeves of two tops to attach to each other so a couple could hold hands, but many were purely decorative. There were oversize sweatshirts, bomber jackets and motorcycle jackets.
But the offering still seemed lacking in variety. The designer has admitted before that he doesn’t have much confidence in designing bottoms, and it shows: he limited himself to slim-fitting jeans and leggings, baggy shorts, and a couple of

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J Brand’s fall lineup was all about a woman’s power wardrobe. “You can see that in not just styles and silhouettes, but fabrications and the color palette,” explained communications and marketing director Mary Peffer.
The collection is heavy on jewel tones, black and taupe, which were all worked back into the other denim pieces.
Velvet and corduroy were the fabrics of choice. “We have worked with velvet usually as bottoms for our fall collections, but this time around, we really transitioned the fabric into ready-to-wear,” said Peffer, referring to the several camisole, slipdresses and jackets.
There was also a focus on outerwear: motorcycle jackets in classic black leather and denim, solid suede and even a shearling and leather number.
But ironically, their most feminine look was perhaps the strongest — a black leather belted super high-waisted pencil skirt worn with a simple black fuzzy sweater.

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MILAN — Lingerie specialist Triumph launched its newest subbrand on March 27. Named Florale by Triumph, the premium and sophisticated line targets women aged 45 years and older.
Inspired by the floral theme, the ultrafeminine range lines up four different styles of bra, named Peonia, Dalia, Iris and Wild Rose.
Peonia is an unlined bra in tulle and lace, with Triumph’s signature underwire in silicone sustaining a cup divided in four sections to better shape the breast. An underwire-free option is represented by the unlined Dalia, embellished with a series of details that remain invisible under the clothes. Iris is a transpiring padded style while Wild Rose is a minimizer bra. Embroideries and laces are also inserted in contrast to further enhance the femininity of the offerings.
Retailing at an average price of 60 euros, or $65.40 at current exchange, Florale by Triumph will hit stores globally starting in September. The distribution will involve department stores and select retailers worldwide, along with the label’s freestanding stores and e-commerce.

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WELL-DESIGNED LINES: Along with their diplomas, Pratt Institute graduates will be getting an earful from design visionary Paola Antonelli at its 128th commencement ceremony.
As the keynote speaker, the Museum of Modern Art’s senior curator of Architecture and Design will have all sorts of sage insights for the outgoing 1,000 students. Antonelli won’t be the only honoree at the May 17 event at Radio City Music Hall. Photographer and visual artist LaToya Ruby Frazier, who is also professor of photography at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, will receive an honorary degree as will television producer Gary Smith, who has racked up more than 20 Emmy awards with business partner Dwight Hemion.
In the meantime, Antonelli will be more than busy with her day job, preparing for “Items: Is Fashion Modern?” at MoMA this fall. Set to take over the midtown museum’s entire sixth floor, the show will explore the relationship between clothing, functionality, culture, aesthetics, politics, labor, economy and technology. Levi’s 501 jeans, the bikini, Prada’s nylon backpack, Hermès Birkin bag and the pashmina shawl are among the 111 items of clothing, accessories and footwear that will be displayed. When the exhibition bows Oct. 1, it is meant to

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ROCK SOLID: Police have recovered almost all of the jewels stolen in an armed robbery at a Cartier jewelry store on Monte-Carlo’s Casino Square Saturday afternoon, the Monaco prosecutor’s office said Monday.
According to local reports, the last bag of missing jewels in a haul estimated to represent several million euros was found in France on Monday, just across the border of the Mediterranean principality, in a street where a suspect was also detained. The thieves reportedly dropped two bags of loot in the street as police arrived on the scene following the robbery which took place in broad daylight.
A total of five suspects were involved in the case: three robbers, a driver and an accomplice who was probably there to help get the driver out, according to a statement sharing the details of a press conference held by the prosecutor’s office Monday. Four of them were arrested less than seven hours after the robbery. One of the robbers is still on the run, according to reports.
The suspects reportedly came from Vallauris, a town on France’s Cote d’Azur near Cannes. They had no previous record for robbery.
Cartier declined to comment on the case, saying it was still under investigation.
No one was harmed

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FRIENDS: Guests attending a housewarming party for designer Vincent Darré’s new apartment showroom in Paris on Friday night, located at 13 Rue Royale, were surprised to see that the place was still empty.
“It’s tradition in France, it’s a real housewarming, the place is still being decorated,” laughed Darré as workers in dungarees milled about serving Champagne. Vanessa Seward and Courrèges designers Sébastien Meyer and Arnaud Vaillant posed for pictures in the first room hung with sheets daubed with illustrations of King and Queen Royale, their faces cut out for guests to poke their own through, while in the lobby, a live Senegalese band banged out tunes.
“It’s cool, he’s made it his own,” said Seward, who revealed her husband, Bertrand Burgalat, is planning the release of an album based on soundtracks he has created for her show. “I think my favorite would have to be the first one, performed by April March, called ‘Vanessa’s Way.’”
Darré said he’ll install his new collection, Renaissance, in April, mixed with vintage furniture; contemporary artworks, and customized pieces by a range of designers including Eric Schmitt, Mathias Kiss and Mattia Bonetti. “It’s a return to what the arts décoratifs used to be. I had to fight with

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TOKYO — Asia’s most prominent fashion week wrapped up its six-day run on Saturday, bringing to a close a week of fashion shows, installations, music events, parties and store events.
The fall edition was the second season in which Amazon was the headlining sponsor, and the first in which the e-commerce company actively supported more designers and brands to join in the events. With its newly launched At Tokyo program, Amazon backed three brands to show during fashion week for the first time, and also gave them a platform to sell their products online to customers worldwide. James Peters, vice president of Amazon Fashion in Japan, said the company will continue to sell this season’s three brands on its site, while at the same time looking for three new brands to support next season.
Overall, the reaction to Amazon’s increased involvement was positive, with buyers and journalists noting that there seemed to be an increase in excitement and a more palpable energy this season compared to last October.
“Amazon is putting in a lot of effort in terms of p.r., with parties and getting people to go outside [to the different events], which I think is a really good thing,” said Shogo Terazawa, a

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Phoebe Neuman

Shinpei Yamagishi’s goal for his fall collection was to think outside the box: How can one close the sleeves of a shirt without buttons? How can he make clothes more free and less constricting? To answer the first question, he used long, thin ribbons of fabric. For the second, he turned trousers into long skirts for men.
The designer said he purposely used mostly muted, solid colors — aside from a silky bright orange fabric and wine red and mustard yellow crushed velvet — preferring to focus on texture and detail rather than flashy graphics. He created a softer, more feminine version of men’s tailoring, which he mixed with knit sweaters, ponchos, motorcycle jackets, and coats that fastened at the hip with a single tab. 
Subtle deconstruction was a running theme, showing up as frayed hems and jagged, almost ripped-looking sweater bottoms. Yamagishi’s signature layering put skirts over pants, added long scarves to several looks, and meant that often there were three or more pieces on top. But with delicate, light fabrics, the overall look was still smart and never bulky.

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