As everyone who’s had to wear a school uniform knows, the devil — and potential detention — is in the details. For Maiko Kurogouchi, it’s also where the magic lives.

The Tokyo-based designer said she’d looked at the way wearing the same thing as everyone every day leads to expressing identity and individuality through a loosened tie, a changed hem or a collar worn just so. In her eyes, there’s a parallel between that and the way a craftsperson may create a new standout by constantly reproducing an item.

Her usual repertoire of feminine tailoring, rife with fluid dresses, fitted jackets and lean trousers were the daily fare around which she built iterations, chiefly by injecting elements drawn from Japan’s preppy playbook.

A “gakuran” school jacket returned as a fluid ankle-length coatdress, while an oversize jacket was cinched closer to the body with a pair of darts along the ribs. Sailor collars appeared on everything from MA-1 jackets to dresses and knitwear. One boxy top even looked like it had been fashioned out of the collar’s rectangular back panels.

Meanwhile, Kurogouchi’s dab hand at construction elevated classic fare such as a midi jersey shift dress turned sculptural or roomy trousers with a softly corseting rework at the waist that resulted in pleating that curved on the back, in the same way a kimono’s collar bares the nape of the neck.

True to her long-held interest in handcraft and textiles, detailing was exquisite. A white collar peeking from a jacket that was in fact an embroidered trim; suiting turned almost chiffon-like but still looked elegant on tailored slacks; a jacquard pinstripe that slowly faded into a checked motif. A collegiate sweater was revisited in lightweight yarn, its pattern further tweaked with a translucent zigzag design. Even a cropped sailor top in Lurex knit felt fun and fresh.

Despite a palpable shift toward easier options this season, Kurogouchi demonstrated once more that she has a firm grasp on what turns a staple into a firm favorite worn on repeat.