Kunihiko Morinaga

It was an extravaganza in pastel — ruched, gathered and bound.

The fashionforward house of Tokyo designer Kunihiko Morinaga has built up a huge fan base in Japan for its intellectual designs and original use of techno-fabrics. This was on full display Tuesday as Morinaga used strapping, in tonal or contrasting colors, to bind loose silhouettes to the models’ body. It began with the baroque — billowing sleeves and high collars on silken fabric dresses in exaggerated proportions — and the occasional jumpsuit. They were, of course, paired with on-trend white banded sneakers.

At times, crisscross strapping evoked an almost kinky, exo-skeleton restraining the body— such as in a peach, kneelength dress with a gray lattice exterior. The show was highly original. The color pink has — so far — been heralded as the color of the season.

But fashion editors generally agree that Paris Fashion Week has the ultimate say in what going to be a trend, so all eyes are on the French capital’s runway collections to see if this continues.

On the first day of shows in Paris, pink made a moderate splash.

A pink pastel ruched gown opened the collection for Anrealage with gowns that continued in pastel shades with a dash of fuchsia.

And one of Dior’s nicest looks was a floor-length baby pink sheer silk gown tied at the waist with a pink bow. (AP)