Kei Ninomiya has established himself as one of the greatest fashion designers in the world. He studied French literature at Aoyama University in Tokyo afterwards began his studies at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp.
Over a summer break, he applied for a job at Comme des Garçons and secured a place for himself as a pattern-maker for Rei Kawakubo. Ninomiya dropped out of school for the job and after just four years, Kawakubo( who is also Ninomiya's mentor) suggested that the clothes Ninomiya was creating for Comme des Garçons should be shown under his own name and the brand Noir Kei Ninomiya was born.
In 2012, Ninomiya launched his womenswear collection under the Comme des Garçons brand, using the color black as a trend. He experiments with unconventional pattern-cutting and assembly techniques, drawing inspiration from garments and craftsmanship. The designer prefers to construct clothes without sewing whenever possible, and one of his special techniques is joining various laser-cut pieces to form a finished garment.
Ninomiya takes pride at handling repetition by obsessively multiplying small modules to produce complex structures. His crafty style combines punk and delicate elements. Each piece is made by Ninomiya and his small team from synthetic and natural materials, as well as vegan and genuine leather. He presented as a part of the Moncler Genius project in 2019 and debuted his first collection during Paris Fashion Week.
Ninomiya is a designer known for thinking outside the creative box. Brilliant, humble and quiet, his oeuvre is a reflection of the inner workings of his artistic mind. He is known as one of the fashion industry’s most innovative and intriguing designers as a result of the niche he has craved for himself.
