FLORENCE, ITALY — Complexities notwithstanding, Kei Ninomiya’s Spring 2027 offering feels ephemerally light. Or perhaps wild. The designer, an alumnus of Rei Kawakubo at Comme des Garçons, refined his relaxed take on ready-to-wear through his collaboration with Dover Street Market’s first in-house label, DSM. The partnership is still young, but Ninomiya stuck to his guns, developing ideas nurtured through a wealth of reference points.
DSM Kei Ninomiya
His inspirations, meanwhile, have ranged widely. For Spring, he turned to the unlikely figure of Jamie Reid, a creative whose practice cast aside conventional constraints in pursuit of ever-greater forms of expression: embodying the tension at the heart of punk. Indeed, the collection drew inspiration from Reid’s décollage-style graphics and untamed energy, resulting in clothes imbued with a richly suggestive undertone.
On the tailoring front, the designer did not entirely abandon traditional concerns. The leather pieces this season were especially sharp. “Going to Florence, I felt a sense of both its historic, solemn side and its open, welcoming atmosphere,” notes Ninomiya. “Pitti Uomo is a historic event that supports creativity […] I also appreciate the very positive and open-minded attitude of everyone involved. I am honoured to have been given this opportunity,” he adds.
DSM Kei Ninomiya
DSM Kei Ninomiya
But it was wildness, rather than exaggerated volume, that emerged most strongly from the clothes, suggesting both tension and softness in texture. Here, Ninomiya ventured further into separates than ever before, designing smoky, dusky leather biker jackets and footwear in collaboration with Vans. At times, some pieces – such as box-shaped blazers fastened primarily with zips – felt somewhat impractical. However, he found stronger footing with his intricately embellished tailoring.
It has always been one of Ninomiya’s strengths to highlight the overlap between the couture world in which he trained and a realm with broader commercial appeal, an area that now appears to be receiving greater emphasis. Case in point: the patent leather toppers felt both technical and haute.
by Chidozie Obasi