Ujoh Spring/Summer 2026: Journey to the Japanese Seaside

By Jesse Scott

Mitsuru Nishizaki took guests to the Japanese seaside for an exquisite Spring/Summer 2026 collection that re-interpreted classic summer silhouettes for contemporary realities. “The Japanese summer no longer forgives,” he explained. “The air thickens, the heat saturates, and the desire to dress fades away.” With this in mind, Nishizaki designed a breezy and effortlessly elegant wardrobe that proposes “a way to keep dressing even when the climate turns extreme.”

While Mitsuru’s collection firmly faces the future, it is layered with romantic nostalgia and exudes yearning for a simpler time both in life and fashion. “The sea, for me, is gentle memories - family memories,” Mitsuru recalled in an exclusive interview with Rain. “I have two children together with my wife, and when we go to the sea, we make good memories that we take back to our life and work.  I have tried to transcribe those memories into the collection.” The collection was a soothing kaleidoscope of breathable fabrics and refined colors layered with distinctly Ujoh forms. It can seamlessly shift from the streets of Tokyo to the seaside of Wakayama with “wrinkle-free” savoir faire, infusing the barefoot aesthetic with urban sophistication. Mitsuru expanded: “I want to curate elegance, but in a gentle way… without going too much into resort moments so that when you go back to work in the city, you can still wear the same clothes and be at ease and beautiful.”

Sirens and Sailors Meet Urban Geometry

The most evocative motif of the collection was the fishing net, referenced on fringed skirt details, dramatically cascading tops, and semi-sheer mesh wraps (Looks 42, 45, 46). Serenading sailors and fishermen with a certain melancholic wistfulness, these details served as complex sartorial representations of a state of being, grounded in hard work and simplicity, that transcends time and place. The collection also featured several flirtatious and feminine jewelry pieces, with silver cuffs, bangles, and rings shimmering like water (Looks 21, 27).

Ujoh Spring/Summer 2026: Looks 42, 45, 46 (Images courtesy of Ujoh)

Mitusuru is a master of working with harmonious dichotomies. This season, he excelled in combining fluid silhouettes and the aforementioned feminine sensibility with a starkly minimalist color palette that epitomizes modern Japanese urbanism. “Black, white, and beige,” defined by Mitsuru as a “sober trilogy, radically Japanese, and unbroken by the heat,” dominated. Granted there were entrancing pops of periwinkle blue. But rather than using stereotypical beachfront colors, Mitsuru encouraged us to re-conceptualize our relationship with urban and seaside environments. He demonstrated through lightweight fabrics, free-flowing forms, and refined draping (Looks 5, 14, 15) that, just as we can carry seaside memories home to the city, we can also incorporate the striking and familiar chromatic patterns of urban life into our holiday wear.

Ujoh Spring/Summer 2026: Looks 5, 14, 15 (Images courtesy of Ujoh)

Ujoh Launches Second Collaboration with Reebok

This season also saw Ujoh and Reebok build off their highly successful S/S 25 collaboration with a second more nuanced exploration of the brands’ shared codes. S/S 25 revealed a blueprint for combining masterful tailoring with technical sportswear; this season allowed both to breathe in harmony while more thoroughly exploring the chromatic possibilities that this synthesis creates. “When we did the first collab with Reebok, we were working on the cuts and trying to find new looks… this season we wanted to go even further,” Mitsuru said. The result drew general acclaim from those in attendance; this is one of the most sophisticated and balanced collaborations between a sportswear and luxury fashion brand in recent memory. 

Mitsuru Nishizaki has remained true to his aesthetic throughout a chaotic fashion flashpoint, but he has also continued to grow season after season. A permanent highlight on the Paris Fashion Week calendar, his profile should only continue to grow moving forwards.