A common misconception about the goth subculture is that it’s all darkness and death.
Likewise at Noir Kei Ninomiya.
There was black – of course: ribcages, giant skulls and plenty of the spiny, spiky exoskeletons he has made his signature. But the Tokyo-based designer wasn’t going for doom-and-gloom.
“There is this sadness in the world in this new century,” he told editors after the show. “But we should make it positive.”
So, soon enough after cocoons that seemed to weigh down on the models, a bounty of blooms started to emerge, like new life cropping through the cracks.
Floral motifs included stylized roses cut into rigid surfaces, tiny calla lilies bursting from the tip of a spiky flurry, woven garlands through sharp-looking snarls or naive bubbly doodles rendered in metal and dangling from Ninomiya’s harnesses, de rigueur accessories to his sharp tailored staples.
Rendered as extra-fluffy tulle puffballs, the aforementioned skulls read more fun fair figures than vanitas. And you didn’t have to be goth to appreciate the impeccable cut of a fitted zippered leather blouson with a light basque at the back.
On that note, even a ribcage worn as a plastron didn’t distract from Ninomiya’s considerable tailoring skills. Under it was a cropped tuxedo jacket with lightly peaked shoulders. But it was comprised mainly of lapels, shoulders and sleeves, kept immaculately in place by a series of buttoned strips running down the back.
Further on, adjusting the color palette shifted the mood. Flight jackets and MA-1 bomber jackets elongated into dresses and skirts lost their martial mien and even took a turn for the romantic when executed in blush tones, with matching tulle skirts to boot. Flower cover sneakers, courtesy of a Puma collaboration, added a rosy touch.
And throughout, it was hard not to crack a smile at headpieces featuring angry animals with poses so exaggerated they looked meme-worthy.
Given what 2026 has dealt so far, raising morale for real is going to require more than blue-sky thinking. But for the brief interlude of his fall show, Ninomiya’s work made that existential dread feel more akin to teenage angst – heavy in the moment but could ultimately lift.