"Spring is Dawn, Summer is Night, Autumn is Dusk, Winter is Work... IT'S SHOW TIME," a fashion show-style entertainment produced by KEITA MARUYAMA, was held at EX THEATER ROPPONGI in Roppongi, Tokyo on December 16, 2021.
The event was a crowdfunding project launched by designer Maruyama Keita on November 12, and featured a show centered around the preservation of traditional Japanese culture, mixing his latest collection with his own archive collection spanning the past 27 years.
Ai Tominaga in the finale, where her dress and kimono were restyled
The opening saw Ai Tominaga walking in a dress embroidered with oriental motifs, a signature of KEITA MARUYAMA, with the piano music of "Kojo no Tsuki" playing in the background. Just when you thought it was the start of an haute couture catwalk show, the stage switched to the kabuki play "Nyo Dojoji," with Onoe Ukon performing a one-night-only short version, leading into the happy Spring/Summer 2022 collection. The usual 10-15 minute runway show was transformed into approximately an hour of fashion entertainment covering spring, summer, fall and winter by incorporating Japanese drumming by Ondekoza and hip-hop dancing by ULTIMATE BBOYZ.
Hip-hop dancing by ULTIMATE BBOYZ
The fall/winter collection featured a restyling of archive pieces presented at Paris Fashion Week in the 1990s, and featured brand muses such as Ayumi Tanabe, Ryo, and Miwako Ichikawa wearing dresses from the archive collection, as well as actresses and talents close to KEITA MARUYAMA, such as Makiko Watanabe, Shuzo Ohira, and Asuka Saito of Nogizaka46. In keeping with KEITA MARUYAMA's support of Japanese entertainment through his costumes, the music selection included a Christmas number by Aki Yashiro, and DJing touches by Tomoyuki Tanaka (FPM), music director for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. For the finale, Maki Nomiya closed the Roppongi festivities with her signature song, "Tokyo wa Yoru no Shichiji." "The past two years have been tough for both the fashion and entertainment worlds due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but I have a strong desire to pass on the creations of Kenzo Takada and Kansai Yamamoto, who inspired me to pursue a career in fashion, to the next generation, and I wanted to somehow make this show happen before the end of 2021," said Maruyama. "Fashion is not something unnecessary or non-essential; it can change lives. It's not just clothing; it's people who create various things and experiences, working together to express the mood of the times. My role is to express that in a happy way." After the show, Maruyama exchanged words of appreciation with many of his friends.
Keita Maruyama
The event was a crowdfunding project launched by designer Maruyama Keita on November 12, and featured a show centered around the preservation of traditional Japanese culture, mixing his latest collection with his own archive collection spanning the past 27 years.
Ai Tominaga in the finale, where her dress and kimono were restyledThe opening saw Ai Tominaga walking in a dress embroidered with oriental motifs, a signature of KEITA MARUYAMA, with the piano music of "Kojo no Tsuki" playing in the background. Just when you thought it was the start of an haute couture catwalk show, the stage switched to the kabuki play "Nyo Dojoji," with Onoe Ukon performing a one-night-only short version, leading into the happy Spring/Summer 2022 collection. The usual 10-15 minute runway show was transformed into approximately an hour of fashion entertainment covering spring, summer, fall and winter by incorporating Japanese drumming by Ondekoza and hip-hop dancing by ULTIMATE BBOYZ.
Hip-hop dancing by ULTIMATE BBOYZThe fall/winter collection featured a restyling of archive pieces presented at Paris Fashion Week in the 1990s, and featured brand muses such as Ayumi Tanabe, Ryo, and Miwako Ichikawa wearing dresses from the archive collection, as well as actresses and talents close to KEITA MARUYAMA, such as Makiko Watanabe, Shuzo Ohira, and Asuka Saito of Nogizaka46. In keeping with KEITA MARUYAMA's support of Japanese entertainment through his costumes, the music selection included a Christmas number by Aki Yashiro, and DJing touches by Tomoyuki Tanaka (FPM), music director for the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. For the finale, Maki Nomiya closed the Roppongi festivities with her signature song, "Tokyo wa Yoru no Shichiji." "The past two years have been tough for both the fashion and entertainment worlds due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but I have a strong desire to pass on the creations of Kenzo Takada and Kansai Yamamoto, who inspired me to pursue a career in fashion, to the next generation, and I wanted to somehow make this show happen before the end of 2021," said Maruyama. "Fashion is not something unnecessary or non-essential; it can change lives. It's not just clothing; it's people who create various things and experiences, working together to express the mood of the times. My role is to express that in a happy way." After the show, Maruyama exchanged words of appreciation with many of his friends.
Keita Maruyama
