Hanako Maeda looked toward the music of her youth as a template for her fall offering. Think late ’90s rock and grudge. “The music of my childhood,” she called it, backstage pre-show. When pressed, she named Blink-182, Green Day and Dashboard Confessional as her favorites of the era.
The theme took Maeda down a more darkly romantic turn than in seasons past, marrying her take on deconstruction with tactile fabrications. White sheer tulle in layers billowing out of a sleeveless top; lace against leather on dresses with hints of chiffon, or a series of bright yellow tartans, and lace opera gloves, styled with body piercing and harness details were direct punk references. “I always love romantic things,” she said, and there was a sense of femininity and softness imbued with a punk rock edge.
She expanded on these ideas in eveningwear, but rather than feeling like exact event dressing pieces, there was a versatility. For example, puff sleeves on a purple finale look of a crop top and column skirt had an elevated Wednesday Addams feel. The sleeves are removable, underscoring a core principle to her brand: giving her customer a variety of ways to wear a single piece.
What’s a show about music without a mini concert? After the finale evening look and a quick guitar solo by a Japanese rock star Miyavi, Maeda held another show for her secondary collection Ichi. The line is her take on androgynous Japanese street style, shown on a mix of male, female and nonbinary models. It’s here that her work felt directly Nirvana grunge, with oversize cargo shorts and jackets, ripped sweaters and vests grounded with thick Doc Martens, right in line with how Gen Z interprets street style today.
