Beautiful People makes Paris catwalk debut

By

Dominique Muret

Translated by
Nicola Mira

Published
Mar 7, 2018

Japanese label Beautiful People, which usually shows in Tokyo, staged its first Paris catwalk show at Ledoyen on Tuesday. Designer Hidenori Kumakiri presented a well-balanced collection featuring a style both nonchalant and romantic, with a period mood inspired by the end of the XIXth century, seen in the long, highly fitted double-breasted overcoats, and some of his velvet items.

Kumakiri created his women's ready-to-wear label ten years ago, and made a name for himself in Japan, where Beautiful People chiefly sells, as well as in Korea and the USA. The label is now looking for greater international recognition.

Beautiful People started showing in the French capital last year, and presented its last two collections at the women's fashion week. From the current season, the label's European distribution is in the hands of Tomorrow London. The label currently has 80 multi-brand clients and operates five directly owned stores, three in Tokyo and two in Osaka.

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For the Autumn/Winter 2018-19, Hidenori Kumakiri focused on his brand's signature traits. Above all, Beautiful People is known for its everyday essentials, reinterpreted through Kumakiri's passion for knitwear and for a handful of iconic items, such as the trench coat, presented in a three-layer version, and the biker jacket, featured in a longer cut this year.  

The silhouettes are uber-slender, accented by maxi lengths, endless overcoats, flowing trousers covering the feet, and loose dresses and pleated skirts down to the calves, often worn over trousers.

Kumakiri is big on layering, presenting for example two monochrome knitted dresses slipped one over the other. The same layering effect is achieved with twin sets of sweaters, plaid-ponchos, trench coats and tunic dresses.

The collection featured some highly commercial items, and was infused with a touch of masculinity too, notably in some of the fabrics: like the grey flannel used for a strap dress, the skirt and over-skirt in dark blue wool with a pinstripe motif, or the sleeveless men's overcoat, its collar knotted at the neck, which morphs into a bare-back dress.

Hidenori Kumakiri was born in 1974 in Kanagawa, Japan, and is a fashion technology graduate from the Bunka Fashion College in Tokyo. 

He worked as a designer at Comme des Garçons, where he spent ten years, and in 2004 he set up his own company, Entertainment Ltd, specialising in pattern design and apparel manufacturing. In 2007, he became a fully fledged fashion designer, creating the Beautiful People label.