Tokyo Fashion Week: Facetasm A/W 2012-13

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I'm republishing today a feature about Japanese label Facetasm that I recently did for another publication.

Facetasm, the name of Hiromichi Ochiai’s men and women’s wear brand, originates in the French language: it comes indeed from the word “facet”, indicating one of the flat polished surfaces cut on a gemstone, but also the many facets occurring on a crystal, symbolically referring to various perspectives and approaches to life, style and fashion. Yet, while the name may somehow have a European flavour, Facetasm’s essence is quintessentially Japanese, in perfect Tokyo style.

Since founding it, Ochiai worked at combining different aspects together in a cross-cultural and transnational mix typical of Tokyo’s youth.

Facetasm S/S 2011 collection moved for example from a socially sensitive theme, “Minority”, and featured Native American totem poles with abstract patterns reminiscent of Moroccan tiles, while for the A/W 2011-12 season, Ochiai blended American culture with moods taken from Gus Van Sant’s films.

Usually Ochiai tends to express all his ebullience and optimism in his Spring/Summer collections, using bold prints and colours, while he often opts for layering clothes in his Autumn/Winter collections to hint at the sadness and nostalgia triggered by the wintry season. This endless “pick and mix” approach allowed the brand to grow steadily, becoming increasingly popular.

Facetasm’s latest collection, launched in March during Tokyo Fashion Week , was inspired by the things that surround us and that live inside us. Ochiai tried to focus on the existence of those things and to understand how we react to our surroundings or how we impact upon them.

This abstract concept was translated in the new collection by layering garments in different textiles and materials: bright coloured tartans were mixed with leopard prints; shearling shorts were matched with thick woollen jumpers and coats accessorised with Facetasm’s trademark nylon padded scarves in pop shades.

Sharp silhouettes borrowed from couture were combined with urban moods, resulting in women’s red herringbone biker jackets-cum-capes or men’s denim and wool capes, that reminded Ochiai’s fans how the designer’s modern education is actually steeped in tradition.

“I established this brand five years ago, after studying at the Bunka Fashion College where also Yohji Yamamoto and Junya Watanabe went, and where I specialised in textiles,” Ochiai says. “After that I spent eight years at textile company Guildwork. They work for Japanese fashion houses such as Comme des Garçons and Undercover and this experience allowed me to get to know different fabrics.”

Facetasm’s designs may be utterly contemporary and Ochiai stated in the press release accompanying his A/W 2012-13 collection that he dreams “about the future”, but he also seems very keen to get inspirations from the past and in particular to rediscover traditional Japanese skills.

“A while back I collaborated with a very famous traditional Japanese embroidery company to create a varsity jacket with a colourful image of Leonardo da Vinci’s Last Supper,” he explains.

The jacket (View this photo), together with his garments inspired by the lights on Christmas Trees (View this photo) and characterised by coloured dots on a black background that looked like taking an acid trip in Yayoi Kusama’s multi-dotted “Infinity Mirrored Room”, were probably the most photographed designs during the “Versus Tokyo” event at the latest Pitti.

The latter featured 20 young yet very successful Japanese brands selected by Yuichi Yoshii, maverick buyer and owner of the iconic cafe and deli Pariya and of concept store The Contemporary Fix.

“I brought my ‘Pop' line at that special event, with pieces that featured graphic patterns (View this photo), optical prints and embroideries inspired by street cultures and subcutures,” Ochiai states. “Yet what I want to do through my garments is expressing something that may be embedded in people’s collective unconscious, for example images taken from nature, like I did in previous collections with prints of quiet Japanese woods, the same woods that also inspired Hayao Miyazaki. I would like to express these deep feelings in my garments, so that I can create something different and strong in fashion that can be enjoyed by the wearer daily.”