JUST when you think Sacai’s signature mash-ups can’t possibly still feel new, couldn’t possibly still surprise, Chitose Abe does it again. This morning’s show was standout.
The designer is expert at juxtaposing references and fabrics. In her repertoire this morning: bandana paisley prints, florals, Breton stripes, guipere lace, blue and green tartan, sheer white silk, navy wool and khaki canvas, and more.
A military vibe anchored the collection. Khaki bomber jackets with pleated peplums shooting out the back were spliced with micro florals, while officer tailoring verged on whimsy via fluttering bursts of sheer white silk.
There were skirts that from one side looked like an A-line canvas wraparound, and from the other, a sheer navy pleated number; next came military button-through dresses that morphed into evening wear with guipere lace sleeves and hemlines; elsewhere, utility shirts with puffs of volume at the back, and other points of interest to be found there such as pleats, and intricately folded tails, everything grounded in a lace-up hiker boot/sandal hybrid atop a patent flatform. As always with this show, there was so much going on in just one singular item, the two seconds it took for a model to pass just wasn’t long enough to process the goings on.
It might all sound terribly complicated but function and wearability is always at the forefront of Abe’s mind when she’s splicing her ideas together. She is, after all a working mother and doesn’t have the time, nor inclination, for fuss and fanfare when it comes to getting dressed in the morning. Furthermore, the very fact that so many women here today at the show were dressed in her designs is testament to the ease of it all. After today’s show every one of them left the venue wanting another piece of it in their wardrobe.