Entitled “Metal Couture”, the Noir Kei Ninomiya Fall/Winter 2021 collection initially majored on thin, stainless-steel spikes. Kei Ninomiya manipulated them to the point where they often appeared to be a part of the delicate, sheer fabrics they were attached to.
These fierce, conceptually punk assemblages for sure threatened injection. A brace of black clusters of puckered organza (sea sponge–ish) preceded a more conventionally readable passage of costume in which Ninomiya ran dark creative amok among 19th-century silhouettes in a manner not unadjacent to his boss Rei Kawakubo, playing harness against ruffle, ruche, and skirt.
Other uses of metals included intricate ruffles of zippers, whose volume echoed layers of blue organza on an overcoat and chunky black cable knits. Strips of a silver, foil-like material were carefully arranged to give volume and shape to a zip-front dress and high-neck top.