With “Akatsuki: Before the Dawn,” the Japanese designer turns the quietest moment of the day into a meditation on hope, craftsmanship and new beginnings.
There is something beautiful about the moment before the sun comes up.
The world is still quiet. The sky hasn’t decided what color it wants to be. Everything feels suspended between what was and what is about to happen.
That feeling is at the heart of HIROMI ASAI’s Spring/Summer 2027 collection, “Akatsuki: Before the Dawn,”presented during New York Fashion Week. Inspired by akatsuki, the Japanese word for the time just before dawn, the collection doesn’t celebrate the arrival of light as much as it celebrates believing that the light is coming.
And honestly, what could be more beautiful than that?
Full body shots: ALEX CALLEJO @ac_photography_chicago
Dressing for the In-Between
Across eight looks, Asai creates a visual transition from night to morning. Deep navy, charcoal and earthy tones slowly give way to soft whites and luminous neutrals, creating the feeling of watching the sky change just before sunrise.
But the collection isn’t simply about color.
It is about transition.
The clothes exist somewhere between traditional Japanese craftsmanship and contemporary menswear, between darkness and light, between heritage and what comes next.
Since 2017, Asai has worked alongside Japanese kimono artisans to bring the extraordinary techniques of traditional textile-making into modern fashion. For Akatsuki, she collaborated with artisans in Tango, a historic silk-weaving region of Japan, developing new textiles specifically for the collection.
Closeups: Photographers: ALEXANDER RAUE @glass_and_grain_photography
The Past, Woven Into the Future
Some of the most beautiful details are hidden inside the fabric itself.
Many of the textiles feature nuitori, a traditional Japanese technique that weaves decorative threads into the material, creating patterns with texture and dimension. Panther motifs, graphic checks and traditional auspicious designs appear throughout the collection, while contemporary silhouettes keep the garments firmly in the present.
It’s a quiet kind of innovation.
Nothing is being erased. It’s being carried forward.
That may be what makes Asai’s approach to Japanese fashion so compelling. The tradition isn’t treated as something precious that belongs only to the past. It becomes something alive, something that can evolve.
A Little Bit of Nature
The collection is also rooted in kacho-fugetsu, the Japanese appreciation of nature and the changing seasons.
And you can feel it.
There is a sense of stillness in the darker looks, followed by an almost luminous softness as the palette becomes lighter. The garments seem to move with the same rhythm as the natural world: slowly, quietly, inevitably.
There is no rush to get to the sunrise.
“The Sun Will Rise Again”
Ultimately, Akatsuki is less about darkness than it is about hope.
Asai describes the collection as a reflection on the belief that morning is already on its way, even when we cannot see the first light yet.
“Even before we see the first light, morning is already on its way. The sun will rise again.”
It’s a simple idea, but one that gives the collection an emotional weight far beyond the runway.
Because fashion is often obsessed with what comes next. The next trend, the next season, the next big thing.
HIROMI ASAI asks us to appreciate the moment before it.
The quiet. The uncertainty. The possibility.
And maybe that’s the real luxury of Akatsuki: being reminded that you don’t always need to see the light to know it’s coming.
