Hidenori Kumakiri’s base loves his conceptual, noncommittal approach to dressing—after all, why settle for a piece that does only one thing when it might go three ways? For that reason alone, the studio refers to some items as having a side A (front), side B (back, or reversible), and side C (which is usually something to do with bringing a lining to the front).
This season, Kumakiri, his maverick patternmaker, and the studio team bent over backward to offer “office ladies” transformable looks that will take them from day to night without having to spend more than a few minutes restyling what they already have on. But it’s not just about the ladies. The brand has recently introduced menswear, hence an extra emphasis on gender fluidity and functionality, as seen in the boxy jacket and trousers in the first look shown here, flowing elastic-waist cargos or—why not?—an apron dress. Pairing trousers with dresses is one way to play both sides of the fence, but layered or pleated skirts with sheer knits made an unambiguous bid for feminine dressing. Those were pretty. So were a couple of black dresses—one long, one midi—that nicely channeled the new minimalism. That said, the fan who is up for fiddling with some of the multiple-armhole knits is a very specific kind of customer indeed.
The designer also went deep into fabric research, working wool until it felt like cotton or even silk. Beautiful People people are hooked on that kind of deep dive—which is why the brand now has enough traction to open a new store, its seventh, in Nagoya this spring. In the meantime, American audiences will have to keep settling for the e-shop, although they’ll no doubt be psyched to know that the label is now in talks with stores on both the East and West coasts.
