Telma, a women’s wear brand helmed by designer Terumichi Nakajima, made its runway debut at Tokyo Fashion Week’s Spring/Summer 2025 collections, captivating the audience with a showcase of sustainable practices and intricate designs rooted in Japanese heritage.
Nakajima, a graduate of the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, honed his skills at prominent fashion houses like Dries Van Noten and Issey Miyake before launching Telma in 2022. Driven by a passion for showcasing Japanese craftsmanship to the world, Telma explores new creative possibilities through its textiles and details, forged in collaboration with skilled artisans.
The brand’s inaugural runway show was a testament to Nakajima’s dedication to sustainability. Telma, acknowledging the environmental impact of textile dyeing, partnered with Kyocera’s FOREARTH inkjet textile printer, a technology that minimizes water usage and utilizes unique pigment inks to achieve vibrant colors on various fabrics. This collaboration resulted in a collection where approximately 70% of the textiles were created using FOREARTH technology, highlighting the brand’s commitment to eco-conscious practices.
The collection itself was a visual feast, blending traditional Japanese aesthetics with modern sensibilities. An oversized, garment-case inspired coat, crafted from hand-woven Japanese paper yarn, opened the show, exuding both boldness and elegance. The centerpiece of the collection was a series of pieces featuring a vibrant cosmos flower motif, delicate and whimsical yet boldly presented on everything from sheer dresses to structured chesterfield coats.
Telma’s color palette, a symphony of clean whites and blacks punctuated by splashes of pink and orange, mirrored the designer’s intention to create a world of controlled monochrome that bursts with vibrant nuances of color and light.
The overall aesthetic of the collection resonated with a spirit of playful contrasts, marrying the refined and the raw, the delicate and the powerful. Through its use of sustainable materials, intricate designs, and a celebration of Japanese craftsmanship, Telma showcased a unique vision of modern women’s wear, leaving audiences eager to see what the future holds for this promising new brand.
