Celebrating 10 years in business, designer Hanako Maeda focused her inspiration on New York, thinking about the foliage of Central Park and nostalgia around school uniforms. Her first collection when she debuted at New York Fashion Week was based around the Stephen Sondheim musical “Into the Woods,” with its dark fairy-tale vibe, and to mark her anniversary, she married past and present — revisiting and evolving some of her greatest hits.
The look: A woodsy fantasy meets preppy uniform dressing with functionality.
Quote of note:”I wanted to show the continuity with the collections; it’s a continuous story,” she explained of showing her main collection alongside her unisex offering, Adeam Ichi.
Key pieces: Transitional outerwear was a focus, covetable coats (one worn five ways!), cape jackets, vest/coat combo, menswear plaid wide-leg pants, monogram argyle sweaters, new shirtdress proposals, sporty cardigans and an evening hoodie dress in floral jacquard.
The takeaway: Marking her anniversary by leaning into her codes — proportions and killer knits — all imbued with convertibility made a lot of sense for how a busy customer wants to dress. Maeda always moves the needle in terms of textiles and bringing in vegan options this season brings a new relevance to a brand.