Japanese designer and fashion week sensation Tomo Koizumi on his overnight rise, and staying grounded while thinking big
- Lady Gaga wore him in 2016, but it was a chance Instagram post five months ago that propelled the 30-year-old to Madison Avenue and fashion’s big time
- Recognised for his flamboyant gowns, he has since dressed Miley Cyrus, picked up a slew of orders, and is designing singer Miriam Yeung’s tour costumes
Japanese designer Tomo Koizumi was the breakout star of the autumn/winter 2019 fashion season. He came almost out of nowhere, making headlines during a very low-key – and some would say uninspiring – New York Fashion Week with his candy-coloured dresses and the remarkable story of how his first show came to be.
The 30-year-old, who is based in Tokyo, developed a strong interest in fashion at the age of 14, when he discovered the work of John Galliano for Dior. An arts major, Koizumi never trained as a professional designer and started out making custom creations for women friends in his early 20s.
His flamboyant gowns – poufs of tulle-like fabric in bright hues that are made for the Instagram age – have been the talk of the fashion world since they debuted in New York in early February. Koizumi’s early designs, however, were quite different from what he does now, as he explained on a recent visit to Hong Kong.
“It’s only been three years that I’ve been making these ruffled dresses because I didn’t have the technique to make big gowns before, so my clothes were very fitted and body conscious,” he explains.
Koizumi was in Hong Kong to work with actress and singer Miriam Yeung, who commissioned him to create outfits for her world tour.
Before his show at New York Fashion Week, Koizumi had become the go-to designer for many Japanese pop stars, including the female members of Dreams Come True, making costumes for their concerts and music videos.
“I really like to make big gowns, but in Japan nobody wears them as there are no galas. I still wanted to make something big and extravagant, so the only way for me to fit in the Japanese market was to dress singers for performances,” he says.
The first international celebrity he dressed was Lady Gaga, who famously paired one of his gowns with a hat covered in Vote stickers while leaving Narita International Airport in Tokyo during the 2016 US presidential election campaign.
Working with only one assistant in a studio in the Nakameguro district of Tokyo, Koizumi hand-sews all his pieces. In spite of their grandeur, his dresses are made of Japanese polyester, which is very sturdy and can even be washed.
“It’s easy to get and affordable and I want to elevate this normal material that’s so common in Japan,” says Koizumi. “As a costume designer, I need to make sure that the clothes are easy to handle because they’re worn for performances.”
Koizumi never harboured ambitions to make it onto the world stage, until a fateful encounter in October 2018, when Sara Maino, an editor at Italian Vogue, spotted his work and posted an image on Instagram. In a sort of domino effect, the photo was re-posted several times, catching the attention of British designer Giles Deacon, who showed it to stylist Katie Grand.
Grand used a few of Koizumi’s dresses in a Love Magazine shoot featuring model Kaia Gerber. One thing led to another and before you know it, Koizumi and Grand started a private conversation on Instagram. “She suggested we do something together and in just 30 minutes we decided to do a show,” recalls Koizumi. “At first we were talking about London, but then she said that in New York it would be easier to get support.”
Grand, who is a long-time collaborator of designer Marc Jacobs, enlisted top talent such as make-up artist Pat McGrath and hair stylist Guido Palau to work on Koizumi’s show. Jacobs provided his Madison Avenue store as the show venue, where models such as Bella Hadid and Emily Ratajkowski, and actress Gwendoline Christie, walked down a staircase clad in Koizumi’s confections, making for one of those fashion moments that are rare these days. Everyone provided their services free of charge.
“I can’t thank them enough, especially Katie. She did so much for me,” says Koizumi, who flew to New York after shipping 28 looks in three boxes a few days before the big event.
While he is aware that his clothes are not very commercial, Koizumi has already attracted the attention of buyers from stores such as Joyce in Hong Kong and Selfridges in London.
“I think that eventually I’ll make exclusive collections and collaborations with stores, but not a full commercial line, at least not for now,” he says. “I want to keep doing custom orders.”
It didn’t take long for those orders to come. Thai fashion consultant Nichapat Suphap asked Koizumi to design a couture gown to wear at the Met Ball this year, and jewellery designer Lynn Ban also placed an order. Koizumi has recently dressed singer Miley Cyrus and is considering collaborations with a shoe brand and an eyewear label.
While Koizumi is still wide-eyed when talking about the fast trajectory that turned him into an overnight sensation, he admits that he has to figure out how to evolve his signature style to avoid being pigeonholed for his ruffled look.
“I keep thinking about this,” he says. “I know that I’m known for my ruffles, but I want to keep this signature and develop it in different ways. I’m not a big brand that has to sell all kinds of clothing, so I can only do this for now.”
He is already in discussions with the organisers of a major fashion week in one of the four fashion capitals for a second show and is planning a showroom presentation during Paris Fashion Week next season.
As for what to expect next, Koizumi can hardly hide his enthusiasm. “I want my next collection to be even bigger – bigger dresses and more extravagant – because I think that the reason Katie invited me to do the show is that I’ve been following my dream and I want to keep doing that. And so, as the dream gets bigger, maybe even my dresses will get bigger,” he says.
“Even if I end up failing, at least I know that I did what I wanted to do and followed my dream.”
