Taro Horiuchi took up his role as creative director of Kolor last summer, stepping into a position held by founder Junichi Abe for 21 years, and for Spring/Summer 2027, he made that very specific kind of displacement the collection’s entire premise. The show was titled “Aliens,” and the concept was not about science fiction. Horiuchi was direct about it after the show: “I’m an alien to the company, but they’re alien to me too. I think in some way, everyone is an alien.” The outsider trying to belong, the newcomer learning an existing language while tentatively introducing their own, that is an honest framework for a second-season collection, and Horiuchi used it with enough intelligence and restraint that it never tipped into self-indulgence.
The Collection
That sense of unfamiliarity translated into a collection of unexpected pairings, Western boots reimagined with chunky lug soles, trench coats turned inside out to expose their linings and pocket piping, plaid boxer pyjamas elevated into a matching set, and collars, cuffs, and bomber sleeves sprouting layers of soft floral blooms, as though everyday garments had evolved into a hybrid species. The colour palette opened with a black suit so conventional it registered as a visual jolt before moving through tans, greys, and blues and landing on several looks in bright chartreuse, the colour we associate, inevitably, with little green men. The chartreuse could have read as a punchline and instead read as a conclusion, earned by everything that came before it.
The Collaborations
Horiuchi worked with new collaborators this season: Taiwanese psychedelic duo Mong Tong on the soundtrack, Greek-based German artist Klaus Jürgen Schmidt on textile patterns, and Chinese-born Japan-based painter Yang Bo on the graphics, a genuinely international creative network assembled for a collection about what it feels like to be new somewhere. There were echoes of Kolor founder Abe in the layered styling and playful construction, but Horiuchi resisted over-complication, suggesting he is beginning to establish his own rhythm while respecting the house codes. That balance between inheritance and invention is exactly what a creative director in his position needs to demonstrate, and Spring 2027 demonstrates it clearly.
