From fairy dust to sculptural fashion: AW26 trends from Tokyo

Tokyo Fashion Week marks the end of the international autumn/winter 2026 womenswear runway season. In the Japanese capital, designers looked to the past, drawing inspiration from bygone eras and mythical creatures. They also showcased their skill for craftsmanship and the creation of fashion sculptures.

Fashion history

This season, several designers, not just in Tokyo, seem to have delved into fashion's history books for inspiration from days gone by. Various silhouettes were presented that were reminiscent of creations from the 18th and 19th centuries. Most looks were high-necked, revealing almost no skin. They focused on layering and muted colours, including black, various shades of white and navy blue. They were often finished with a playful detail, such as a special headpiece. Ruffle details, especially on the collar, added the finishing touch to some of the combinations.

Designer Moe Ishida of the Tokyo-based label Houga was inspired by New York's experimental Off-Off-Broadway theatre productions for her collection “Our Playground”, and apparently also by its costume archive. She showed, among other things, a blue pinafore dress with a tiered, wide-flared skirt, styled over a simple white blouse.

The French designer Agnès Troublé, founder of the brand Agnès B., showed as part of the “by R” project by Fashion Week sponsor Rakuten. She presented 35 pieces that are available exclusively via the Japanese conglomerate's fashion platform. A particular standout was a tailored frock coat in beige, combined with a tricorn hat and leather shoes with a large strap. Connoisseurs of the brand will notice that this is not the first time the designer has sent this look down the runway. It was already part of the SS26 collection, which was shown during Paris Fashion Week.

The Japanese label Mukcyen by designer Yuka Kimura also integrated various historical references into its collection, which were repeatedly juxtaposed with contemporary fabrics and cuts. A knee-length coat is particularly noteworthy. Its silhouette is cinched by a corset and flared by a transparent petticoat. Underneath, a long, white ruffled blouse was showcased, which stood out particularly for its voluminous cuffs and high, puffed collar.

Fairytale

The enchanting looks from the brands Pays des Fées and Marika Suzuki seem to be inspired less by historical pieces and more by the stories of the Brothers Grimm.

The Japanese label Pays des Fées (French for 'fairyland') had fairies gliding down the runway for its 20th anniversary. The looks were partly inspired by its own archive from the last two decades. According to the show notes, there were also influences from the animistic and pantheistic worldview found in religious paintings from the 6th to the 11th century. The entire collection was thus imbued with an interplay of mythical creatures in harmony with flora and fauna. Butterfly wings were lined up next to horned hats, while almost the entire collection was wrapped in glitter and tulle. Colours such as a delicate pink, various shades of green and sky blue dominated the looks.

Meanwhile, Marika Suzuki delved into the sunken world of mermaids. The fashion research specialist behind the eponymous Japanese label uses discarded plastic bottles as well as damaged kimonos and textiles as the basis for her collection. Plastic appears in the collection on various headpieces and as details in voluminous dresses. With their ruffled shapes and colours like green and red, they are reminiscent of coral and algae enveloping the wearers. Transparent fabrics, tulle and shimmering materials with a colour scheme of red, blue and turquoise resembling the rainbow fish deepen the feeling of being somewhere in the vastness of the ocean.

Creepy cute

For the first time, the Taiwan Textile Federation also presented the Taiwan Select project during fashion week, in which the three labels PCES Studio, Yentity and Chia participated. The designer trio behind PCES wanted to put the wearer at the centre of their collection “There is no Party without you” and make them the “star”. Under this motto, they brought the fairytale vibe with tulle and ruffles into the present for a generation that moves mainly on the internet. These components were combined with streetwear pieces such as hoodies decorated with stars.

Designer Yueqi Qi, who founded her eponymous label in 2019 after graduating from the renowned London fashion school Central Saint Martins (CSM) and integrates embroidery and glass beads into her vividly printed fabrics, seemed to adopt a similar aesthetic. However, she was guided more by nostalgia, as she drew inspiration for FW26 from a former underground shopping arcade in Niigata, Japan. Lingerie-inspired details met looks somewhere between school uniforms and skiwear, which showed a lot of skin apart from the thick winter jackets with fur collars. Pixel motifs such as kittens and flowers were seen alongside a drawing pad print and bunny embroidery. The interplay of these different elements revived the early 2000s without following the key pieces of the Y2K trend of past seasons.

Yusho Kobayashi, who also graduated from CSM, transformed his entire runway into a sea of artificial flowers in pink and purple. Very young, almost childlike models walked through it to mystical, electronic pop music. They presented a playful collection based on patchwork, layering and crochet elements. The focus was on voluminous dresses decorated with large bows, whose material looked like crumpled paper and was adorned with childlike paintings. The chaotic-looking mix harmonised with the Japanese "kawaii" aesthetic – pastel colours; soft textures; simple graphics and cuteness – which also includes the somewhat darker subgenre Gurokawa, or "creepy cute". Dark and cute at the same time also seem to be the key adjectives for the collection.

Sculptures

The following brands seemed to have taken a completely different path, paying special attention to the silhouette itself.

The Japan-based brand Enföld, known for its sculptural designs, presented a collection characterised by shapes and layering this season with its “Living Sculpture” collection. Pieces characterised by soft edges and curves were juxtaposed with asymmetrical cuts and cropped tops.

Ryunosuke Okazaki, who was a finalist for the LVMH Prize in 2022, also builds on sculptural work with his garments made of wire and stretch fabric. These elements sometimes wind around the body like the visualisation of movement in cartoons and look almost like futuristic armour from a video game. Although the Japanese designer has previously focused less on ready-to-wear pieces, he tried to integrate individual items such as polo shirts into the collection. However, even these did not come without a wire in the shoulder sections.

A similar sculptural form was also recognisable in the final look at Japanese trainer specialist Grounds, which showed its FW26 collection in Paris a few weeks earlier. A voluminous, long dress was on display, which was particularly striking due to its strongly flared shoulders, almost resembling angel wings.

Further trends at a glance

Apart from the conceptual similarities, there also seemed to be individual design elements in Tokyo this season that were found in the collections of several designers, including diamond quilting and photo prints.

Diamond quilting

Diamond quilting is particularly popular in outerwear for equestrian sports, but it also repeatedly finds favour in experimental pieces. In Tokyo, it was mainly used for white, knee-length coats reminiscent of bedspreads. Pays des Fées also integrated the fabric into a short, almost cape-like jacket with leg-of-mutton sleeves.

Photo prints

The use of photos showing everyday objects or situations was also a popular design element. The variations range from a simple large print that covers the entire top to a tiled collage with different motifs and an all-over print.

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