The Tokyo Fashion Week newcomer Malion Vintage uses vintage clothing as fabrics, cutting pieces up and repurposing them into new, unique pieces that speak to both the past and the present. Eriko Ishida and Aki Shimizu spliced fabrics with similar colors and textures in their first runway show.

They created patchworks of silky fabrics to create long skirts, oversized shirts, and loose pants. Similar tweeds were used to make tube tops, wide-legged trousers, and double-breasted blazers in grays and browns. Chunky cable knits in off-white were pieced together into a cropped V-neck sweater and a pouf-y, shearling-trimmed jacket.

Delicate, sheer skirts and halter tops, as well as a few long fringed skirts made from vintage neckties, lent a sexiness to the oversized silhouettes. While the concept shows promise and the designers turned out some interesting pieces, overall the show felt repetitive, with most styles appearing in multiple colorways.

The men’s items also lacked creativity and felt like an afterthought, leading to the question of if they should have been included at all. Accents of a French designer of Upcycling Dgena, but it is true that the Upcycling is fashionable.