For fall, Mame Kurogouchi framed her collection as “transparent landscapes,” referencing misty mountain ridges peeking through a delicate veil of fog, and the ephemeral shimmer of Japanese Wa-glass, a craft cultivated from the 17th century to the early 20th. Shaped by childhood memories of her native Nagano’s mountains, which she visits on weekends from Tokyo, Kurogouchi explored the liminal space between city and the enchantment of untamed nature. The mountain peaks beyond the haze, the frozen surfaces beneath ice, and the texture of glass were meticulously translated into textiles via weaving, knitting, dyeing, and printing—a sartorial cartography rendered with exceptional handiwork
Ultra-fine nylon spark yarn was spun to create a rising-steam effect and shaped into asymmetrically draped dresses and blouses. Wash-printed motifs of wild mountain flora lent hooded coats and field jackets the serenity of haikus, “as if shadows were swaying behind a shoji screen,” said Kurogouchi. Layered anoraks and capes were crafted from translucent, almost ethereal fabrics, evoking a frosted landscape, while cord embroidery suggested the accidental forms of cloth wrappings once used to protect farming tools in mountainous villages. In Kurogouchi’s hands, even activewear took on an unexpectedly poetic quality.
The palette unfolded as a lush study in green: the tender freshness of new foliage, the shadows of trees glimpsed through morning mist, and the nostalgic emerald of traditional Japanese glass. These hues flowed together in dense, exquisite knit fabrics, where the colors of rocky outcrops and verdant mountain landscapes were rendered with the enchanting grace of brushstrokes.
