Black light bathing the Noir Kei Ninomiya venue on Saturday turned finding one’s seat into a dark ride filled with glowing shirt collars and embroideries, nails and grins floating with their owners unseen.
A blast of music had all those shining bits and bobs scrambling to arrange themselves into their rows as the first of a series of glowing concretions evoking nudibranchs, neon-hued marine gastropods, appeared at the end of the runway.
Upon closer inspection, they were sprouting from humans wearing outfits that included a PVC biker jacket, tailored shorts and a matching blouson or a suit with a transparent ruffled coat on top.
Lights for the human visual spectrum revealed silhouettes in black, purple and gold that tapped iterations of Ninoniya’s tinsel-like cocoons, harnesses and tailored elements.
A middle section had candyfloss flurries layered over floral jacquard dresses, quilted satin skirts or suits with ballon-shaped legs that felt charmingly easy to adopt. The saccharine palette of strong pastels brought to mind the bedazzling colors of microorganisms found in the dark depths of the ocean, so far below the surface that sunlight never reaches.
Elliptic show notes offered fantasy as the idea of the season, a direction Ninomiya confirmed backstage through a translator. He also pointed out a focus on resin, which he employed to create shapes and effects that could not be obtained solely from textiles.
Exploring the otherworldly and the unknown might be a daunting prospect for some, but for Ninomiya, going brightly where few have gone before is a joyful, wonder-filled endeavor.
That’s how he’s managed to attract followers so far and there’s little doubt more will come on board.
