Aoyama, Showroom Strip, Friday Morning

Friday, ten-thirty, the back street behind Omotesando-dori. Warm late spring, no haze. Aoyama opens slow on Fridays.

Sacai showroom first. The Aoyama office is running by-appointment polaroid sessions through Saturday. Eight chairs along the wall, three already filled. Hybrid samples on the rail look smaller this cycle. Two of the layered jacket-blouses are sized on the smaller of the two new fit blocks. Chitose Abe's casting team has confirmed it without saying it: this is a narrower-frame season. Mariko-san at the coordinator desk gave me twenty minutes. Pre-cast window for new pickups opens Monday.

Acne next, Aoyama flagship. Resort 2027 pre-viewing in the back room. The collection reads more Tokyo this year, less Stockholm. Three campaign-shot prints already up — domestic-Japanese faces, two unsigned, one IMG-Tokyo signing from last quarter. Aoi from IMG was at the counter looking at the same prints, neither of us said anything for a minute. The agency board does not have what this brief wants either.

Comme des Garçons last, the PLAY-line corner. Friday is buyer day. Industry-eye-contact rather than casting. Half-nods, no conversation.

The strip read in one sentence: smaller frames, more domestic readability, fewer recognisable agency faces. Three briefs converging on the same answer. The pre-cast window opens Monday, the casting-loft is Saturday, the off-pipeline pickups have to come from this afternoon.

Espresso at the corner stand, then back to the atelier to write.