Tao allowed Kurihara to indulge her whimsy, going from punk one season to childhood fantasy in another. She first worked as a patternmaker for Junya Watanabe before becoming head designer of Tricot Comme des Garçons. Kurihara described working with Watanabe as “creation without compromise,” while her own line “represented creation that is unique to me.” (Tao was short-lived and closed in 2011, because Kurihara wanted a change of lifestyle, she said, and returned to designing the Tricot line, which is shown twice a year in Tokyo).

Kurihara, though, had a unique, distinct style all her own — not unlike the complex, wild interpretations by another Comme child.

It can feel a little bit like, in the grand scheme of Japanese fashion, the fabled story of the Tao brand gets lost. Kurihara actually was on the pulse: she was upcycling wedding dresses and bedcovers before it was cool, crafting outfits entirely out of paper and playing with elements of punk and folkloric culture in every sense.

The fall 2009 collection was one of my favorites by Tao. It’s never easy guessing Tao’s origin of inspiration. Some say Tao was inspired by Russia or Scandinavia, some say Turkey. When asked about this collection she said she was not inspired by any particular geographic location, but by cake decorations. She later revealed that she was inspired by an Eastern European city, but not which one. Whatever the case, the whimsical and folkloric clothing showed a darker side to ribbons and embroidery. The large velvet bows that adorned the models heads, the silly proportions, the Frida Kahlo-like make-up swept across the model’s brows.

It’s was always a whole new world with Tao.

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