Despite skirts for men becoming more and more common on runways in recent seasons, rarely have they looked as elegant, yet masculine, as they did in Takahiro Miyashita’s most recent showing. The designer sent his models out in exquisitely tailored jackets and coats, layered over tops in rich textures including satin and crushed velvet. He stuck to a mostly neutral palette, but included deep hues of navy, purple, gray and brown.
Hemlines ranged from minis to ankle-length, with above-the-knee, A-line skirts falling in the middle. But in a way that perhaps only Miyashita could, he infused the collection with a distinctly modern masculinity. The classic menswear tailoring was expertly executed, and included pieces such as high-collared jackets and straight-fitting duffle coats. Wide-brimmed hats and faux-fur vests worn on their own or over outerwear upped the elegance quotient, while slightly shrunken bomber jackets and off-the-shoulder shirts printed with bold lettering brought in a cool factor that kept things unarguably contemporary.
It was a strong offering from one of the most talented and buzzworthy designers to come out of Tokyo in recent years. Achingly beautiful, it rendered the local crowd at the Tokyo National Museum nearly speechless as they filed out speaking only in hushed tones of reverence.
