Tomo Koizumi dresses have made headlines around the world with their boldly colored ruffles and cute, voluminous silhouettes, with the brand recently collaborating with a famous Italian fashion house.
Creator Tomotaka Koizumi remains positive even though dark clouds are gathering over the fashion industry amid the coronavirus pandemic. "I believe in my senses, and I want to make dresses that are unique and unconventional," he said.
Spherical dresses have become the brand's signature look, with layers and layers of opaque organdy ruffles. Fluffy and feathery, the dresses look like gift wrapping for models, complete with colorful bows.
"I pursued the essence of my favorite feminine style," Koizumi said.
Koizumi's rise to worldwide fame started on Instagram. In January 2019, after posting a photo of dresses he had made, he received a message from world-famous stylist Katie Grand. She wanted to know if he was interested in holding a show in New York.
He decided to accept the offer right on the spot, and figured he would just do his best.
"Even as I was heading to the United States, I didn't fully believe that I was going to do the show," Koizumi recalled.
Koizumi's first New York show was held in February that year, thanks to the support of Grand and others. It ended up being a huge success, and critics called it the American dream.
For his 2021 spring/summer collection, Koizumi collaborated with Italian brand Emilio Pucci. Koizumi's work in the collection included orange and yellow ruffled minidresses. Although he has buyers worldwide, Koizumi said he's not currently thinking about mass-producing his clothes. Why?
"It's more fun to put all my energy into one exciting project than making 100 of the same thing," he said.
Koizumi is also proud that he was never swayed by trends as a costume designer, instead creating one-of-a-kind items that he believed were cute.
With the pandemic still ongoing, people are not going out as much as before. This has pushed many established brands to create items that are simpler and more comfortable. However, given that Tomo Koizumi dresses were never particularly practical, they look all the more brilliant. The dresses create a sense of excitement because they're unique and look like they're from a dream world.
"I hope when people see my clothes, they'll find them interesting or inspiring," Koizumi said.
Hopefully his dresses will continue to bring joy and happiness to those who see them.
-- Young eyes were inspired by origami
Koizumi was born in 1988 in Chiba Prefecture. He showed interest in colors from an early age and carried a box of origami papers in various shades to nursery school. He didn't use the origami to make anything; instead, he liked to lay them out side-by-side on a table and look at them.
When he was in junior high school, he saw Christian Dior haute couture designed by John Galliano. This moment had an enormous impact on him, triggering his interest in fashion. He asked his parents for a sewing machine for Christmas that year and started making dresses using secondhand clothes.
While at Chiba University, he dressed a friend of his in clothes he had designed before going to a club together. Subsequently, a photo of the friend from that day ended up in a magazine. Then, a multibrand clothing shop contacted Koizumi and said it wanted to sell his clothes. This led him to establish his own brand, Tomo Koizumi, in 2011.
He has mostly worked as a costume designer, making stage outfits for popular girl group Perfume and singer Yuki, among others. Lady Gaga also wore one of his pieces on a tour of Japan.
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
