For spring, Riki Yoshida drew inspiration from the work of Geoffrey Bawa, an influential Sri Lankan architecture who pioneered the movement that is now known as “tropical modernism.” Yoshida titled the collection “The Resort Architect” in a reference to Bawa, but it was his own handprinted textiles that stood out more than anything.
Main message: Yoshida uses his own experience as a textile designer and dyeing artisan to create unique original fabrics that are hand dyed and screen printed in Kyoto. Riffing off this season’s tropical theme, he mixed botanical and nature-inspired prints with solids and subtle geometric patterns. Short-sleeved shirts, trousers and jackets featured lush vegetation in navy, brown and white, which was often offset by pops of a bright sky blue. Silhouettes were simple, but it was the prints that provided interest, such as a majestic bird on a sweatshirt and a bird of paradise flower on the calf of one leg of a pair of pants.
The result: While the designer’s inexperience with clothing design was apparent in the basic shapes of the clothes, Yoshida’s rich, unique textiles saved the collection.
