Fashion from the capital: Mister gentleman Returns

After a two-year hiatus, Takeshi Osumi and Yuichi Yoshii returned to Tokyo’s fashion week recently with an effortlessly cool offering that mixed dandy with outdoorsy and streetwear with tailoring. A teal blue velour suit was worn with a funnel-neck shirt and sneakers, while a plush fleece pullover topped slick patent pants in pale pink.

In what was perhaps an acknowledgement of the fact that they already have some female customers, the designers also played with traditional gender norms, sending one woman down the runway and incorporating details normally only seen in women’s collections. Shirts and a trench coat that seemed relatively pedestrian from the front – aside from the fact that they had no openings – were shown to be completely backless. And card-holder-sized patent leather pouches were worn as tiny, colorful cross-body bags.

Osumi and Yoshii, who style their collections themselves, are known for their clever layering, but this time they often did it in a single piece. Puffer jackets had a second, cropped layer on top, while cargo pocket arm bands and half vests were attached to sweatshirts and coats. Some suit jackets and down coats had exaggerated kangaroo pockets at the front.

In a season that has been lacking in strong men’s brands – which, until recently, dominated Tokyo Fashion Week – this show signaled a refreshing return to seeing stylish men on the city’s runways.