TOKYO – One of the highlights of Tokyo Fashion Week ‒ for the fans in full regalia if not for the fashion ‒ Japan’s godfather of gothic fashion Yasutaka Funakoshi didn’t disappoint fans or street style snappers with his Autumn Winter 2014-15 collection for cult fashion label Alice Auaa.
Detail from a look at Alice Auaa Autumn Winter 2014-15 collection at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo.
Image: Niki Bruce using Samsung NX30 camera
It may be a cult brand from the rarified world of Tokyo’s underground scene but the Alice Auaa brand gained international interest recently when Lady Gaga chose to wear it for her Tokyo press conference during her Artpop promotions in December 2013; goth girls and Little Monsters the world over were introduced to what the Tokyo underground considers one of the best labels of its kind.
The brand’s cult status is reinforced every season by the dedication of its fans. At least two hours before the show was even due to open the doors, hundreds of Tokyo’s goths were patiently lined up in all their gothic Alice Auaa splendor; the street style snappers were beside themselves with joy. For most of the world, this is what Tokyo fashion is all about ‒ extremes of creativity with a touch of the cute and bizarre.
Alice Auaa fans wait patiently for the AW14 show to begin. Image: Niki Bruce via iPhone
Alice Auaa fans are nothing if not loyal. The prices of Funakoshi’s creations are not cheap; couture gowns and coats go for insane amounts of money, which is also why of all the fashion shows at Tokyo Fashion Week, this is the one that has the most customers seated front row (a little unfortunately for those seated behind them since most outfits required an enormous headdress of some sort).
For Spring Summer 2014 the designer created a bizarre watery world of mythic legends with an odd tale of a woman falling in love with a fish ‒ we think; it wasn’t entirely clear, but you can read all about it here: Alice Auaa’s gothic waterworld closes Japan Fashion Week.
Looks from Alice Auaa Autumn Winter 2014-15. Images: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo
However for the AW14 season, Funakoshi had no story, no “concept” other than to “have fun” as he explained at the press interview after the show. This season was all about the gothic master returning to the things he knows best; leather, buckles, thigh-high boots, 18th century tailoring and sex … lots and lots of sex. He also told the waiting press and fans that this was obviously his most erotic collection in a long while, and that he was thinking about all sorts of weird and wonderful sex during its creation. He laughed when he told the crowd clustered around him (he has a very soft voice) that “working on this collection was the best fun he’d ever had”.
No doubt. The collection may look all “warrior woman” from the front ‒ what with the massive shoulders, liberal use of leather, spikes, metal and buckles ‒ but from the back, well … there was not a lot left to the imagination (in fact, we can’t even show you the photos!). There were some references to more extreme sexual practices as well; luckily my Japanese isn’t that good so I didn’t catch all the details.
Looks from Alice Auaa Autumn Winter 2014-15. Images: Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo
Still, if you remove the more obviously erotic elements, underneath the styling are some beautifully tailored pieces; the jackets and coats in leather fit perfectly and the mini-ballgowns come complete with built-in corsets carefully constructed to create the perfect waist.
Alice Auaa is not for every fashionista obviously, but the sheer spectacle is worth admiring as an example of what fashion really is all about ‒ creating beautiful clothes that make you think. Whether that’s about warrior women ruling the world or, well, sex, is up to you.
For more information about Alice Auaa, go to alice-auaa-international.com. For more information about Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Tokyo, go to tokyo-mbfashionweek.com. You can follow the event on Facebook at www.facebook.com/MercedesBenzFashionWeekTOKYO and on Twitter at @MBFWT_official.
