Attachment’s fall show played out across the running track in basement of the Japan National Stadium, a suitably industrial space for Koki Enomoto to present his work, which moves in the realm of uber-restrained simplicity.
Enomoto was appointed to his position by Attachment’s founder Kazuyuki Kumagai (who launched the label in 1999) and has headed up design there since the spring 2022 season. It’s uncommon in Japan for a designer to take over a brand that isn’t their own, explained Enomoto, but he’s in his third round at the brand now, and finding his stride. “At first, I was under a lot of pressure and thought too much about taking over the brand, but the number of people who understand Attachment is increasing, so I feel I can be more creative. In that respect, the pressure is lightened.”
That newfound psychological freedom allowed him to showcase his flair for pared-back clothing that sings in the details (the “attachments” that the brand is named for). “This collection delves deeper into the concept of simplicity, and the sense of distance between people and clothes,” he explained. So the jackets were intentionally unlined in order to be closer to the bare skin, and the loosely-fitted pajama shirts had an elegantly undressed quality, while the subtle pops of pistachio and lilac kept it from feeling frigid.
Enomoto works on a cerebral plane, subtracting extraneous design details and adding new touches. He achieves this with a sniper-like precision, which this season was most clear in the asymmetrical collarless coats in the first and last looks, whose necklines he had made to look as cleanly cut as possible. It was a good example of taking something away, and gaining something better.
