Schoolgirl Lolitas, quirky professors and too-cool-for-school skater boys populated Onitsuka Tiger’s fall catwalk — a fictional campus where whimsical self-expression was welcomed.
They had plenty of youthful attitude — and a colorful and fun wardrobe to boot. To be sure, creative director Andrea Pompilio continues to add his glamorous spin to the Asics-owned brand, chiefly a footwear company.
The first look — a pleated miniskirt with matching blazer worn with a pointy-toed, kitten-heeled rendition of the brand’s signature Mexico 66 sneakers and rib-knit, knee-high socks — delivered manga cheekiness.
The fuzzy fleeces resembling shearling, tossed over sailor striped T-shirts and diaphanous pastel minis, captured Gen Z’s penchant for mix-and-match dressing, while the pencil skirt covered in fabric feathers and paired with a vintage-looking checkered shirt read Millennial art teacher perpetually late to class but impeccably styled.
Remember bow-core? Pompilio paraded plenty of frilled and ruffled georgette blouses and flat bows framing the neck of minidresses or accessorizing a new crossbody bag, alongside tiger-themed lipstick holders, cow-shaped charms and boondoggles.
Providing a counterpoint to the sugar rush, pastel suits — worn by men and women alike — had contrasting stitching and five-pocket pants and ‘70s-nodding puffers in offbeat color blocks (think mint, orange and brown) grounded the collection in wearability. Ditto for the cool superflat Mexico 66 Square sneakers presented in exotic skin prints or decked out in floral motifs.
Class may have been in session, but Pompilio made sure the fashion rules were upended.
