We briefly introduced you to Mon Tsuki when we showed the urban preppy chic collection they designed for f/w 08/09, now here is a follow up for those that may have an appetite for quirky thematic design.  The label is designed by  Takehiro Nagasawa and Shintaro Fujikawa, nearly 20-year industry veterans, who represent Japan’s own fashion education system. The Tokyo Mode Institute graduates had mainly been focusing on womenswear until about 5 years ago when they introduced their mens collections. Since then they have been delivering mens collections full of color and generally drawing very direct infleunce from something they believe is trending. This season, ss09, is no different, with a collection title “Cycle Traditional”, they bring in as many elements of urban cycling as possible. There is definitly a strong reference to Tour de France, obvious with the hats and the color pallette. The collection definitly feels Japanese to in its sensibility to capture all the elements of a trend and recreate them. Few designers elsewhere have the nerve or design ethic to do things that way.