>> Don't know which made me more chuffed - seeing Emma Watson dress up in items that were clearly out of her comfort zone (errr.... Louise Gray x Pollini A/W 11-12 polka dot rubber boots?) or seeing Tsumori Chisato get a clothing credit in the latest November issue of Elle UK in the form of a quilted pink satin fur-sleeved varsity jacket that I can't trace to any one particular collection. As I discovered back in May though when I went to Tokyo, the parts to Tsumori Chisato's collections are multi-stranded and seemingly never-ending. Her clothes are there for you to escape into her particular world of illustrations, collage, travels and cartoonish delight and they go far beyond the catwalk ensembles that is one exaggarated facet of the world of Tsumori Chisato.
Sadly this season, I missed out on experiencing that instance of OTT delight because I got stuck at Haider Ackermann waiting for a backstage interview and taxi G7 let me down. I could harp on about the completely downtrodden and miserable side of the fashion week trek but that would make me sound like a moany ungrateful twat. I'll desist and instead revel in the fact that Tsumori Chisato's collection images alone are worth sallivating over. Chisato's vision can get a little lost sometimes with the sheer abundance of everything - all those patterns, the silhouettes, the illustrations, the accessorising - each collection teaches me to just go with the flow though and in this S/S 12 collection in particular, the flow is tropical. Yadda yadda, yes, all designers have been diving under the sea for treasures for their collections but Chisato has been there and done that of course with mermaids and sea creatures popping up in previous work. I'm still kicking myself that I never managed to score a pair from the 2008 Tsumori Chisato x New Balance collaboration, which already look like they're trailblazing their way into S/S 12's seabed journey. If Chisato has ticked off going under the sea in this collection, instead she raised the bar by imagining a Shangri-la paradise - somewhere where parasols are requisite and flecks of South East Asian dress are incorporated into the silhouettes without it lookling like a sad costume pastiche - for once, that thematic strand can be traced from beginning to end even if I am looking at pictures only.
Still, knowing what filters down into Tsumori Chisato stores, this collection will be broken down into numerous ways. I may have missed the show but my Tsumori fix will come again as I'm very excited to say that I'm going to Tokyo for Tokyo Fashion Week next week. What was once known as Japan Fashion Week took a season out due to the circumstances earlier in the year and is now back with a sheeny shiny sponsor thanks to Mercedes Benz. I'm of course eternally grateful for the opportunity to return to Tokyo for the second time in a year and I'll be working bloody hard to get as much as possible from the week both content wise but one or two trips *ahem* recreational tirps to Daikanyama, Koenji and Shibuya certainly won't go amiss...
