For spring, Maiko Kurogouchi dove into her “personal landscape,” snapshots of scenes and moments filtered by time and affection.
The conduit for her seasonal musing was glass, starting with the patterned windowpanes in her grandmother’s house and broadening to encompass Japanese-made glass from the 17th century Edo period onward.
As always, the Japanese designer’s pre-show exhibits were a treat for the craft obsessed, with sheets of pressed glass, cups with opaline edges and even a small Roman flagon some 3,000 years old.
Details taken from glass and icy landscapes around Kurogouchi’s hometown of Nagano, Japan, best known for hosting the 1988 Winter Olympics, were distilled throughout the collection, turning up as a star-filled filmy jacquard on tops and dresses; finely embroidered on the side of a skirt or a jacket, and created pseudo-lenticular effects through buildable layers of sheer knits.
Kurogouchi’s knack for structure and fit was the bedrock of the spring lineup, yielding breezy blazers, sleeveless vests and fluid slacks. They played into a sophisticated direction, as did sculptural draped dresses.
Formality was kept at bay with a dash of street-savvy, such as bomber jackets with tone-on-tone 3D flowers running down the back or a smart hoodie in textured silk with a cotton rib trim.
While many are angling today for this blend of sophisticated ease and luxury driven by craft rather than logos, few hit the spot as adroitly and consistently as Kurogouchi has over the seasons.