Fashion feature: Araisara Fall 2012

image:C.Hope for Style Wylde

The atmosphere was tinged with a sense of melancholy on Thursday night as the crowd filed into the Araisara Fall 2012 runway show. A prominent label at the Tokyo collections since Fall 2009, Araisara  was about to make its final walk in Japan before moving to Paris for the Spring Summer 2013 season, and it was clear no one wanted to miss this farewell presentation. 

image:C.Hope for Style Wylde

Packed in like sardines, with a never ending amount of additional front row seats being added just minutes before the lights went down, the crowd seemed to wait in hushed excitement to see what the designer would do for her Tokyo swan-song.

 image:C.Hope for Style Wylde

And the designer did not disappoint. From the opening notes of the live flautists and pianist set up at the back of the runway, to the dimming of the lights as the last look retreated down the catwalk the show was a pitch-perfect ode to Asia.

image:C.Hope for Style Wylde

Clean lines and flowing silhouettes were punctuated by light-as-air prints that recalled pastoral Japanese scenes. The looks were unfussy and without gimmick, and they seemed to drape delicately and swirl  around the body almost without use of stitches. The collection was quietly beautiful. It was understated, but impeccably executed and spoke volumes to the big future Araisara has in Paris, and the immense gratitude the designer has for Tokyo. 

For more on Araisara visit the label's official web home.