March 6, 2023 |
Noir Kei Ninomiya’s sculptural AW23 collection was pure magic. Wild, weird and wonderful: the show’s formations glimmered under the spotlight so vividly they seemed to glow in the dark, blissfully lighting up a room already devoured by black. Bodies came colonised by extraterrestrial clothes, technically exquisite and elaborately layered to mesmerising effect. Net dresses adorned with granny-style crochet flowers were followed by avant-garde gowns, retro-futuristically fashioned from crinolined chiffon strips. Metallic polyester strips wound around barely-there hot pants becoming metalwork skirts. Deconstructed frocks missing their entire middle were held on by a quartet of stings. There were full tinsel looks too; flower-formed dresses, leggings, crew socks and platform Mary Janes. One flouncy gown looked as if it had been made from a cheerleader’s pom poms. A fantastic molecular study from Ninomiya, every look was worn with lopsided tinfoil hats or bizarre headpieces that looked like paper-maché moon rocks, as well as bedazzled translucent knee socks and strappy platform kicks.
In stark contrast, crisp tailored jackets, overcoats and layered silk skirting were worked into the mix. Harnessed and tiered, the waistcoats, rope vests and slim-fit woollen coats sat atop Nepalese knit skirts or under woven tinsel webbing.
The last look out was made from loops of plastic industrial tubing, and looked to be sprouting transparent tentacles like a three dimensional macromolecule. This was a multi-hued molecular explosion, packed with cocooning net dresses and bulbous silver fauna that bloomed around bodies.
Photography courtesy of Noir Kei Nonomiya.
