Though the show was almost in the suburbs, and at 9:30 am, the mood was instantly lifted with the opening bars of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody this morning. And spirits stayed up the whole way through as Junya Watanabe treated us to a particularly playful spring collection.
Before the ticket arrived for the show today, a mail went out informing us that the venue was small. Then the ticket arrived, informing us that the venue was the cavernous Beaux Arts de Paris. Things are never that simple chez Comme des Garçons; the house had built a scaled-down reclaimed wood cabin inside the huge space, making it indeed small. This kind of attention to detail, and the meta-ness of sitting in a venue within a venue, was just the beginning.
Yohji Yamamoto’s spring 2019 collection was given a name, which is a rare thing in the world of Yamamoto; he called it Love Song. The invitation came packaged in a 33” record sleeve (though sadly no record), an allusion to the title itself and to Yamamoto’s own increasing love affair with music. For some time now he has soundtracked his own shows, with his electric guitar playing, and singing. This time was no different, though he didn’t voice it himself — a female singer sang in both English and Japanese.
Today Rick Owens presented his womenswear spring collection, the sister collection to spring menswear under the same moniker, Babel. Where menswear took its inspiration from the never-to-be-constructed constructivist dream tower conceived by Vladimir Tatlin, under order from Lenin, today we were looking to mountain witches. As you do chez Rick.
The Palais de Tokyo is as unexpected as they come for a Dries Van Noten show venue, and the particular space they chose within the Palais de Tokyo was just as rare. The swooping gallery, with its glass ceiling, is usually reserved for art shows, but as the Palais de Tokyo is between art shows right now, the timing was perfect, and our lady was really up to her elbows in paint tonight on the runway.
For spring, Jeremy Scott served up a plate of his familiar fare — pop, cartoons, moto, camo, neon — with extra sex appeal. He even delved into his archives for Polaroids from his club kid days...
After the shock news came out last week that Dries Van Noten had sold his majority stake in the company to Spanish luxury group Puig, there was palpable expectation in the air before the show. The opening look breezed onto the runway in a pair of swim shorts, announcing the second shock of the week from Van Noten, his collaboration with Verner Panton. Verner Panton is considered one of the most influential designers of the twentieth century. He was renowned for his avant-garde vision and unflinching devotion to newness, defining much of the 60s design aesthetic as we know it, and in his late career he made total environments that were celebrated for their vibrant colors and textiles. Van Noten said that the optimism inherent in Panton’s work is what he wanted to express, and there was no denying that this was a collection full of positivity and newness.
As big fans of Yohji Yamamoto, with his unflinching view of fashion and dedication to a craft that he has truly mastered, it is hard to bring criticism into play. The collection today had some brilliant moments, and overall was successful in pushing the Yamamoto man forward, but some of the clothes were hard to understand. The prints were incredible, with full color geisha girls and pin-ups cavorting in floral backdrops and set off against animal prints. What could be more masculine than a floor-length silk skirt with a traditional Japanese wood-block print on a leopard jacquard — absolutely brilliant.
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The fashion world changed today, with Virgil Abloh’s first collection as Artistic Director of Menswear at Louis Vuitton. All eyes were on him, as many were still coming to terms with his shock appointment. And he knocked it out of the park.
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