kolor unveiled its Spring/Summer 2027 collection during Paris Fashion Week. The collection marks the third season by Taro Horiuchi, who succeeded founder Junichi Abe as Creative Director in 2025 and has led the brand since the Spring/Summer 2026 season. The theme: “Aliens.”

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At first glance, the title suggests science fiction. Yet the “aliens” Horiuchi speaks of are not extraterrestrial beings. They are our neighbors, our families, our partners—and ourselves. They are the people we seek to understand but never fully can. It is this distance, and the relationships formed across it, that runs through the collection.

Aliens Are Not Extraterrestrials

In the collection notes, Horiuchi reflects on the reality that we coexist with people who are different from us. We strive to understand one another while simultaneously recognizing that complete understanding may be impossible. It is a condition that feels increasingly representative of contemporary life.

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He goes on to suggest that if we were viewed from beyond Earth, the distinctions we often emphasize—nationality, race, language, culture—might appear surprisingly insignificant.

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This is not a celebration of diversity as a slogan. Rather, it is an acknowledgment that human beings can never entirely comprehend one another, and yet continue to live, work, and create together nonetheless.

What “Alien” Means to Taro Horiuchi

The theme also resonates with Horiuchi’s own journey.

Born in Japan and educated at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Antwerp, Horiuchi has built his career through projects including his namesake label TARO HORIUCHI and th products. In 2025, he assumed the role of Creative Director at kolor, stepping into an environment shaped by an established history and identity.

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Entering a new environment inevitably means becoming an outsider—an alien of sorts. Existing cultures, values, and relationships precede your arrival, while the environment itself remains unfamiliar to you.

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Seen through this lens, “Aliens” feels deeply personal. It reflects not only a broader social observation, but also the position of a designer navigating a new chapter while forging new connections.

Creating Together Without Complete Understanding

The collection was shaped through collaborations with creatives from diverse cultural backgrounds.

The soundtrack was created by Taiwanese psychedelic music project Mong Tong. Textile patterns were developed with Athens-based artist Klaus Jurgen Schmidt. Graphics were contributed by Yang Bo, a Chinese-born painter based in Japan.

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Different languages, histories, and cultural perspectives converge within a single collection.

What matters here is not that everyone shares the same worldview. On the contrary, creativity emerges precisely because complete understanding remains out of reach.

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One phrase from the collection notes encapsulates this idea:

“Facing others we may never fully understand, and attempting to create something together.”

It is a statement that defines not only this collection, but perhaps the creative process itself.

A New Contour for kolor

kolor has long built its identity through unexpected combinations.

Sportswear and tailoring.

Classicism and experimentation.

Function and decoration.

The collision of seemingly incompatible elements has always been central to the brand’s DNA.

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Horiuchi’s approach, however, expands this dialogue beyond garments themselves. His focus extends toward the relationships between people—the encounters, misunderstandings, and exchanges that shape new forms of connection.

In that sense, “Aliens” becomes more than a theme. It becomes a framework for understanding how different individuals come together to create something new.

We Are All Someone Else’s Alien

The collection notes conclude with a striking thought:

“Perhaps all of us are aliens to someone.”

It is not a statement about isolation.

Rather, it suggests that relationships begin with difference. Understanding does not have to be complete in order for dialogue, empathy, and collaboration to exist.

Courtesy of kolor

The Spring/Summer 2027 collection proposes exactly that possibility. Through “Aliens,” Taro Horiuchi presents a vision of coexistence built not on certainty, but on curiosity.

The figures inhabiting this collection are not visitors from another planet.

They are the people beside us every day—and, perhaps, ourselves.