Tomo Koizumi’s Dolce & Gabbana-Supported A/W´23 Show

Tomo Koizumi delivered a smörgåsbord of exuberant colours, textures and silhouettes for his autumn/winter 2023 collection, which was supported by Dolce & Gabbana. Anders Christian Madsen reports.

The show was supported by Dolce & Gabbana

Every season at the women’s shows in Milan, Dolce & Gabbana provide a platform for a young designer. This season, their gesture of goodwill – all expenses paid – went to Tomo Koizumi from Japan. Born in 1988, the designer graduated from the National Chiba University in 2012 and launched a label specialising in costume design. His gargantuan creations crafted like origami ruffles from Japanese polyester organza – most of which he sews himself – became popular with singers in Asia and in 2016 Lady Gaga wore one of his dresses on a visit to Tokyo.

Tomo Koizumi is known for gigantic fabric flowers

Koizumi first rose to industry fame when the stylist and editor Katie Grand snapped him up for a show in the Marc Jacobs store in New York in February 2019, after her friend Giles Deacon had come across him on Instagram. Modelled by stars like Rowan Blanchard, Gwendoline Christie, Karen Elson and Bella Hadid, that show placed Koizumi and his mastodon designs on the fashion map, launching a red carpet and stage career that most recently counted Sam Smith’s costume for their performance on Saturday Night Live: A gigantic dress that opened up to reveal Kim Petras hidden underneath.

Koizumi used Dolce & Gabbana’s Carretto print

Staged in the Dolce & Gabbana Casa building on Via Giuseppe Broggi, the show did what a Tomo Koizumi show does: Huge dresses, skirts, jumpsuits and even bags constructed from fabric intricately ruffled into voluminous flowers, rendered in a kaleidoscope of colours. As part of the setup, Koizumi was given access to Dolce & Gabbana’s fabrics. He exploded their recognisable multi-colour Carretto print into hyper-ruffled mini dresses and a mid-century silhouette.

The silhouette drew on corsetry

Koizumi interpreted the corsetry of Dolce & Gabbana’s genetics in bustier gowns whose gleaming ribbons and shiny fabric flowers ended up evoking a kind of 19th century Austrian or Bavarian costume sensibility. Romy Schneider’s Sissi film from the 1950s came to mind. Worn by five models, the gimmicky centipede construction that closed the show – recycled from a wall Koizumi created for a pop-up store in Japan – cemented the made-for-the-stage feeling that pervaded the show.

The collection won’t go into production

“It’s not so different from my past collections. I always get inspired by colours in nature. I made a lot of organic shapes. Proper shapes are not interesting for me,” Koizumi said after the show, noting that none of his designs go into commercial production. “I just enjoy making shapes.” As for the support from Dolce & Gabbana, “It’s great because they totally support everything, from fabrics to bags to shoes. For a designer like me, it’s really hard to put on a show myself, so this means everything.”