As the first Japanese designer to show on schedule at London Fashion Week Men’s, it was brave of Mihara Yasuhiro – creative director of MAISON MIHARA YASUHIRO – to take on the punk aesthetic that London invented.

The bravery paid off. Tattooed models with smudged eyeliner slouched down the runway in grungy long cardigans, plaid shirts and torn denim. Patches which mocked the hashtag obsession of our generation were sown onto garments, slogans like ‘#nothing’ and ‘limited edition’ appeared again and again, echoing our culture’s obsession with social media and its unavoidability.

The falseness the online image was mirrored again in the cartoonish aspects of the SS18 collection. Giant zips on jackets and recycling logos graffitied onto denim brought the fun and quirky touches which reminded the audience that this was a Japanese designer. A Japanese designer who managed to bring something new to the decades old, and many times reinterpreted, London punk aesthetic.

Words: Harriet May de Vere