The second day of the Asian Haute Couture Week continued designers from Japan. Defile of the three leading couture houses of the Country of the Rising Sun destroyed my European clichés of Japanese fashion design as something black and white, multilayered-shapeless and too conceptual. Bright and so different from each other collection were only united in consistently high quality of implementation, adjusted to a millimeter cut and in attention to every detail. The famous and unique «Japanese touch».

The Japanese day was opened by Tamae Hirokawa, creating under her own brand Somarta. Designer takes the audience into the future. The atmosphere of an alien crystal transparency Hirokawa reproduced by finest translucent, enveloping the body like a second skin overalls, hand embroidered with sequins and beads. Heroines of “Avatar” movie wearing high heelless platform shoes, imitating hoofs, which blend with the legs; or intergalactic adventurers – characters of Tamae Hirokawa are feminine and weightless. They seem to float above the surface, breaking the obsolete in the future gravity law. Fine lacing, delicate floral prints on silk, layered transparency – all that false fragility, behind which the power of Neytiri (the main heroine of “Avatar”) lies.

Junko Shimada hardly needs an introduction. Being a member of the French Chamber of Pret-A-Porter, Junko regularly holds fashion shows in Paris. As always vivid and authentic, her collection is perhaps the closest in spirit to the European aesthetics. Shoes on a flat platform with curved ends, like babouche, turbans on the heads and pants, worn under dresses – the designer drew inspiration from the culture of the North African Berbers. An incredibly stylish and feminine yet light dress-coat of the yellow-mustard color with a hood is already on my wish list.

The day was closed by a spectacular show of the mega star of Japanese fashion firmament, the designer, which became a living classic, Yumi Katsura. Each look of the collection was a work of art. Eclectic outfits combined elements of traditional Japanese style and European luxury. On the verge of excess, evening dresses by Katsura, supplemented with showy geisha style haircuts reminded the golden years of the Paris haute couture.

Photo credits: Fide Fashion Week / Word Of Mouth Communications