Ylang Ylang designer Ryunosuke Aoyagi takes a bow on the runway.
Ylang Ylang unveiled its ’08/’09 Autumn/Winter collection of womenswear as part of the 6th Japan Fashion Week in Tokyo.
Ylang Ylang (pronounced “ee-ran ee-ran”) presents a collection that is a bit of an anachronism. While using futuristic textiles manufactured with cutting-edge techniques to create apparel that hangs perfectly with just the right amount of sheer and shine, the lines and details of the designs hark back to the sophistication of the Golden Era of Hollywood and the elegance of the Jazz Age.
A new Ylang Ylang creation on the runway.
Chief designer Ryunosuke Aoyagi, 31, got his start designing accessories for cosmetic maker and fashion house Asty Inc, and established his brand in 1998, taking the name “Ylang Ylang” (“the flower of flowers” in Indonesian) from a bloom that is used in perfumes.
The delicate elegance of this flower has been mirrored in Ylang Ylang designs since the beginning, but the style of the brand has varied from collection to collection. In the past designer Aoyagi himself has said that he “doesn’t have a specific concept set for Ylang Ylang, and just aims to express ‘now’ in apparel that people would feel instinctively that they would like to wear.”
In 2005, the brand opened their first boutique in the Tokyo fashion center of Aoyama, where styles are in constant flux. However, the latest Ylang Ylang collection expresses a strong and consistent concept, while expressing “classic” more than “now.”