Let it be known that Akiko Aoki does not go to the convenience store in her pajamas. While it is not uncommon nowadays to schlep to the 7-Eleven in one’s sweatpants and slippers, the designer has too much self-respect for that. “I have to dress up a little bit first!” she said after her show this season, which took place on a Monday afternoon in a Tokyo gallery.

The line between the uniforms we wear for the world and what we put on purely for ourselves was front and center in Aoki’s mind this season. “The mood these days has become very ‘anything-goes,’” she said, not just referring to fashion. “I think that has some very positive aspects, but at the same time, I feel a bit stressed by the over-saturation of it all.” She sought comfort instead in the idea of dress codes, blending the rigo

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