September 29, 2019 |
Junya Watanabe explored the art of the trench. This perfect modern classic got the full Junya treatment. The designer took the coat as his starting point. The show opened with his ideal contemporary version in oversized modern proportions. Then he deconstructed it and remade it in every kind of creative iteration. It came as a ball gown, in high shine, as a dungaree dress, layered a with exaggerated proportions, as a fluted maxi skirt, and inside out with green silk lining on display.
There were mini trenches, vest trenches, frock coat trenches, and one tench stripped away to the seams over beige lace. Mostly they were in beige but they also came in black, as full-skirted rockabilly dirndls worn with leather biker jackets (another cult Junya cult). Suit jackets and denim jackets were similarly exploded and reconstructed. Many pieces were worn with patterned running leggings which formed a graphic and practical Lycra base onto which his awe-inspiring constructions were layered. Those leggings also keyed the designer into modern life. Like the trench coats or denim jacket he’s obsessed with, they’re what millions of people wear to go about their daily business. In his hands these staples become extraordinary. It was a virtuoso display of the radical creative thinking and techniques that Watanabe has made his own.
Photographs by Jason Lloyd-Evans.
