12th Japan Fashion Week Designers announced

Late last week the participants in the 12th Japan Fashion Week were announced, and I’m excited to see gothic and gyaru brands up there amongst the other designers. (See my post on the highlights of SS 2010 Japan Fashion Week here). What are some of the brands we can look forward to seeing, at least in association with JFW?

h. NAOTO

I’m so pleased that h. Naoto is back! (See my post on Naoto’s Goth night & collection last August)  His various labels are favourites of mine owing to the gothic aesthetic, but I feel he really pushes the envelope when he has a collection to present as part of JFW. Likewise, his catwalk shows are dark & moody, with a mysterious vibe that casts a spell over the viewer.  I already own a lot of his clothing, and am keen to grab some from the newest collection too.

Gyaru brands Vanquish and Liz Lisa will also show.

Vanquish

This label definitely has glamorous classics that I (and many others) love to wear. But as it is a ‘high street’ type brand, will  it hold its own amongst the other designers?  I think the styling will be what lifts the brand above what you see in the catalogues 🙂

Liz Lisa

Overall it’s a bit pretty-pretty for me so far, and I wasn’t fond of the pink/brown colour scheme of the last season, but we’ll see what 2011 AW holds.  LL is certainly a huge fave amongst gals, and yet despite being a “popular” brand, is appearing at Fashion Week. Here’s a few shots from the 2011 Spring/Summer show.

Of the non-brand designers, the ones I’m most excited to see are:

Han Ahn Soon

There was a definite baltic folkloric element to the last collection, partly in line with the Russian princess trend, and possibly also the influence of Dolly Kei? Whatever the origin, I’m intrigued by the layering, the ethnic opulence, the luxurious wearability of Soon’s pieces, and am keen to see more.

Reem Alasadi

I wrote about eco designer Reem Alasadi last February; having seen her work up close I’m impressed with the amount texture she plays with and presents in her work. As I wrote then: “Fabrics of all types, including vintage lace and fur, had been recycled, ruffled, pleated, torn, sequinned, dyed and re-made into couture pieces such as voluminous skirts, exquisite Victorian jackets and multi-layered tops. There are punk, Victorian, vintage and eco elements to her work that I really enjoy”.  Here are some images from her last JFW catwalk:  

Motonari Ono

I’ve also written about Ono before, in my JFW 2010 SS post

See more from Ono here, the UK online shop, or the online Japanese Motonari Ono shop here.

I will talk about some of the others shortly, including G.V.G.V, Theatre Products and FurFur; if you want to see the full list of designers, here are the brands for the 2011-2012 A/W Collection

Which ones would you most like to see?