Noir Kei Ninomiya

By Tara Robinson
All looks by Noir Kei Ninomiya

Dancing on the line between femininity and darkness, Nor Kei Ninomiya’s FW22 collection saw his brand diverge into a new dimension: neon colours. Followers of his work know that his Noir label, titled after the French word for black, navigates an exclusively black palette. With adjectives like adventurous, imaginative and charming frequently attributed to his work, he is a designer known to undo his own rules and transform his own playbook.

Having originally studied French literature at Tokyo’s University of Aoyama, and partaking in a brief stint at the prestigious Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Ninomiya went to work for Rei Kawakubo. In 2012, the pattern maker-designer was given the opportunity to launch his own brand under the Comme des Garçons umbrella. Combining notes of romanticism and punk, his work is waged by a strong desire to approach clothing in new ways. From laser cutting to experimental tulle forms, his savoir-faire excels.

Noir is an exploration of blackness in all shades, textures and materials. In Ninomiya’s work, black serves as a canvas to his intricate designs and engineering. Whilst his Spring/Summer 2022 show saw Noir Kei Ninomiya explore light, playing with hues of beige, this collection went a bit further, diving right into a pool of neon pink, yellow and green. The spectacle titled “FLUORESCENT” aimed to “[create] a new world by mixing different colours,” says Ninomiya.

Kei Ninomiya’s creations are a symphony of fabrics married together with intricate techniques, earning him a clearly identifiable aesthetic. He is also known to steer clear from stitching, preferring to piece together with rivets, studs, interlaced straps and even steel, all contributing to his protruding and adventurous shapes.

Another element of his visual lexicon made itself present with the show’s arrival of tulle. This juxtaposition of harshness and softness became further evident as models treaded down in metallic headpieces enclosing their faces atop a bouquet of soft tulle. Fluorescent pink dresses, sandwiched between black tulle and leather, were voluminous, ample, bouncing to the beat. Incredible structural dresses covered in bulbous balls of scrunched tulle gave way to organic motifs.

photography / AD @jo51ua
producer @blues_cluwz
talent @o_christ
stylist @darts.vader
hair stylist @curlysiouxsie
hair assistant @emilymoranmakeup
makeup artist @woesletho
set design @victoriapunturere
gaffer @icarus.projects
movement @salomonszj
production coordinator @_valentine.rd
production assistant @34seymour
studio @lithium.studios