Emi Funayama from Fetico wants to bring back the mystery. “There’s something that’s bothering me,” she said backstage after her show. “Nowadays with social media, it has become trendy to try to make yourself look better by revealing everything. I’m more attracted to people who keep their cards close to their chest.”
She called this collection ‘The Secrets’ and started researching vintage clothing from the eighties. Pre-social media! What’s sexier than that? Funayama was particularly inspired by the supermodel of the time, Veronica Webb, and by the secretive female characters in the 1988 film Drowning by Numbers. “I wanted to express the charm of a mysterious woman who has a secret,” she said.
Fetico is one of the most exciting womenswear brands in Japan today, and each season Funayama strengthens its position by showcasing femininity in a way that maintains a sense of fantasy while remaining down-to-earth. From the flowy polka dot panties and delicate knitted camisoles to the floral print dresses with ruffles at the waist, the broderie anglaise cotton skirts with panty line edges and the stocking cycling shorts, every opportunity to flatter the shape was taken. Sheer glitter dresses clung to the body and bared and revealed the skin, while ’80s power blazers were given strong shoulders and plunging backs, all appropriately finished with mother-of-pearl chokers and sexy secretary glasses.
But then again, she never strayed too far from reality. “I usually wear sneakers instead of heels, and even though Fetico’s clothes are feminine and I think it’s cool to wear them with heels, when I think about how to create a more realistic look, I want to go for sneakers,” she explained about the footwear. The sneakers in question came in silver, black and white and were square at the toes. Comfortable, yet sharp.
More should be said in fashion, but sexy clothes that women actually want to wear – and wear for themselves – are a depressing rarity. At least in Tokyo, Funayama is the one moving the needle.