Kei Ninomiya at Noir proved again that If there is an heir apparent to Rei Kawakubo, he is it. His show featured garments of otherworldly complexity that pushed the envelope to outer space. The theme was “The Beginning,” going back to what he backstage said was “basics,” though there was nothing basic in those mind-bending complex clothes that sometimes take days and weeks to build. Ninomiya clarified that what he meant was concentrating on construction – as if he doesn’t always – and I took it to understand that for him design in its pure form comes first. There were elements of nature in the show, a bit of green color thrown in with the usual black and white, and some garments did look like esoteric plants, especially in combination with the brilliant headpieces by Azuma Makoto.
Kei Ninomiya at Noir
