It was a research trip to Kenya — and its mountains of clothing waste from the Western world — that fired Yuima Nakazato’s imagination this season. Ever the explorer of the technical possibilities of textile in his otherworldly designs, Nakazato sent some back home, and had them woven into new fabrics to create his collection, which paid tribute to the draped and wrapped garments of the continent of Africa.
It was also a comment on the climate crisis, based on conversations with the tribespeople he met on his travels last October. “I knew before, from information in the media, but I felt the reality when I went there, that was a strong impact for me,” the designer said backstage.
His gilded ceramic jewelry evoked tribal designs made from discarded bones, creating dramatic collars and belts to punctuate the silhouette.
Mounds of multihued waste informed his color palette, resulting in mottled bright fabrics that he contrasted with stark black and white. His signature bio-smocking technique, made from artificial protein, was dyed with a powder crafted from nanoparticles of African mountain stone, resulting in a specific ocher-like hue on a crinkled shift dress that contrasted with much of the remainder of the lineup, referencing a parched landscape.
Some of his fabrics shimmered, sculpted into voluminous ruffles that enveloped the body and strongly evoked the fantasy esthetic Nakazato is best known for. At times, they seemed like ethereal beings in their own right. At others, they highlighted the human form beneath, their billows sculpted thanks to dangling thin cords. Other multihued fabrics were dense and textured, from afar resembling slubbed felt. When combined, they resulted in a graphic tailored coat with diaphonous handkerchief sleeves.
Black pants were crafted with one leg wide, the other slim, worn tucked into his chunky over-the-knee boots with their jagged geometric platform soles. What looked like tailored coats were given a single sleeve and draped across the body like robes in more structured, yet no less imaginative looks.