September 29, 2004 Tokyo fashion: h.NAOTO by Ruta sick thing Antiutopia Hirooka Naoto is Tokyo's superb young designer. His fashion concept lies in creation via destruction of garments: fabrics distressed, dissolved, then collaged and textured with screen-print layers. As varied as the Japanese cos-play scene, h.NAOTO's image-based collections appear like separate labels: from paint-splattered denim in hn+DIE menswear he jumps to distressed burlesque lace (h.Jelly), juxtaposed with rocknroll biker bitch lines; from graffiti skateboard hoods to "gothic lolita" (h.BLOOD), or Seditionaries-inspired h.Anarchy line. Weird, Tokyo fashionistas openly idolise London trends, but by supposedly copying Brit vogue, detail-obsessed designers end up inventing completely original look executed in top quality - see for yourself at h.NAOTO shops in Harajuku,Tokyo h.NAOTO online