There’s a reason menswear buyers flock to Tokyo Fashion Week. Designers here excel at reinterpreting the standards of the masculine wardrobe in ways that are thoughtful and elegant. Though their label is based in Kyoto, Kohichi Watanabe and Ryutaro Kishi of Rainmaker represent this ideal admirably. Their refined versions of staples like belted trenches, blazers, and cuffed trousers are traditional without feeling stodgy. While they offer an array of appealing options for women, their men’s pieces are the main attraction. Spring found the pair embracing print via a painterly tie-dye brushstroke and metallic jacquard on suiting and outerwear—both subtler than they sound on paper.
Understated is the keyword when it comes to Watanabe and Kishi’s creations. Recipients of this year’s Tokyo Fashion Award, their clothes are luxurious without being ostentatious. Fashion historians will notice some similarities to the Tomas Maier days of Bottega Veneta, but the style isn’t derivative. Pieces like robe-like blouses for men and women and glossy leather shorts felt fresh. On the whole, you’ll notice the wearer before you take in the individual elements that define their look. Great clothes enhance the person; they don’t just tick a box on a trend. Watanabe and Kishi highlighted that fact via a cast of models who seemed more like urban professionals than runway regulars. Bearded and bespectacled in soft tailoring or sporting bowl cuts while wearing artfully disheveled layers, they projected cool.
