In all the years Style Wylde has covered fashion weeks in both the US and Japan it would be hard to find a single show that matched the closing finale of the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Tokyo Spring 2016 season for theatrical production. And for good reason, the big finale this season was Yoshikimono, designed by legendary rock drummer Yoshiki of X Japan, and it was staged as much like an big arena concert as it was a fashion show complete with a laser-light show, live music, (classical music played on a shimmering glass piano by Yoshiki himself) and a legion of screaming fans.
The pieces themselves were a mash-up of traditional kimono and Yoshiki's hard rock n' roll aesthetic, which felt more couture than 'ready to wear' and are definitely not intended to be worn by mere mortal women. That being said, they were fantastic to photograph, and even better to see coming together piece by piece backstage before the show. (More on that here!)
I hope you guys enjoy the images from the show as much as I enjoyed shooting them. Please click on the looks to launch light-box mode for best viewing so as not to miss any of the details.
All images: Cynthia Anderson for Style Wylde. For more from the Yoshikimono Spring 2016 collection check out our exclusive backstage feature in Beauty.