Ever the flaneur, Kozuka said the collection’s title, “Dive Into Winter Feast,” stemmed from a curious experience he had while walking to a bookshop in Paris. As he strolled, the word “supper” spontaneously popped into mind. Appropriately enough, upon arriving at the shop, he glanced over at a shelf to find a book with da Vinci’s The Last Supper on the cover. Kozuka cherishes such coincidences. Following the mental associations from “supper” to “feast,” Kozuka thus set about designing a collection inspired by the memorable fêtes in his own life. The ephemerally dreamlike fragments plucked from the mundane flow of the everyday dance across his garments, creating a delightful rhythm as the star of the beautifully lyrical story told through this collection.

The show was a feast for the senses. Flora and fauna motifs arranged at tidy intervals evoked ancient Egyptian murals, while a smorgasbord of childlike embroidery and patches interspersed with graffiti-like paint added to the air of innocent whimsy, offering a window into Kozuka’s inner imaginary world. Water-themed imagery from fish scale patterns to fabric dripping with sequins and shimmering glass organza added a sublime splash of spice to the collection. Instead of shoes, the models wore scuba fins, ready to swim off and plumb the depths of Kozuka’s imagination.

Although heavy rain prompted onlookers at the show’s outdoor garden pool venue to shelter under ponchos, the resulting fog conversely heightened the collection’s dramatic effect. Under the veil of a foggy night sky and with the atmospheric glow of Tokyo Tower off in the distance, not even inclement weather could put a damper on Shinya Kozuka’s designs.