Yoshiokubo presented his Fall/Winter 2018-19 collection on January 15, the final day of Milan Fashion Week. His previous Fall/Winter 2017-18 collection was presented in Milan for the first time under Giorgio Armani's support program, and his Spring/Summer 2018 collection was presented in Florence in June of last year as a joint project between JFWO (Japan Fashion Week Organization) and Pitti Uomo. This marks his third season in Italy. Having honed his fashion skills under an haute couture designer in New York, Yoshiokubo's collections reveal his craftsmanship. For the opening, he once again demonstrated his approach to clothing by having a hooded organza coat worn over a suit. He cut the fabric on the bias, creating a tailored coat, then cut out the hem and frayed the threads, a technique highly challenging to achieve with organza. Asian ethnic patterns, such as paisley and suit fabrics woven with action-painted dots, Tibetan mandala prints, and paisley, are mixed on hoodies, sweatshirts, and bottoms. This season's theme is the clothing worn by passengers on a plane that makes an emergency landing on Mount Everest. The brand's distinctive blend of innovative ideas and unique mixes, juxtaposing the passengers' global backgrounds with materials, features clear-cut pieces with parachutes and Everest printed on lightweight nylon, and colorful mop yarn reminiscent of materials spilled out from the seat covers, added to tracksuits and classic coats with the tops cut off, is a hallmark of the brand. Street-inspired pieces, such as a flight jacket combining different shiny materials like nylon and silk obi sashes, a hoodie with the kanji "Kubo Yoshio" written across the chest in a bold, aggressive font, and a samue jacket, are incorporated into the story. Compared to previous seasons, the hip-hop gangster image was toned down, resulting in a collection that conveyed the quality of each carefully crafted item.


Text: Tatsuya Noda