The sky provided designers with some of the moods and ideas for the A/W 21 season, but the earth also brought on the digital runways some intriguing inspirations.
At Issey Miyake, the earth prompted creative director Satoshi Kondo to look at elements from nature, coming up with a collection entitled "As the Way It Comes to Be" and conceived as a study of textures and patterns.
The collection, presented via simple stills shot in architectural settings, featured indeed a selection of dresses, separates and coats, inspired by natural forms and earthy tones, such as black, burnt orange and gray, a palette at times broken by flashes of bright shades.
Yet simplicity is only a superficial impression in this collection: an ample tunic-like dress integrated a panel made with contracted elastic threads forming a sort of rugged surface evoking the consistency of bark; ribs and curves formed folds and lines, circles and waves, also thanks to the type of threads employed for the pieces, one for the pleated motifs, another type to create non-pleated effects (the secret behind the "Steam Stretch" technique).
Pleated motifs allow designers to play with the light and shadow dichotomy, but in this case the pieces also seemed weightless, almost suspended in the air or creating the sort of ripple-like concentric effect you may get if you threw a small rock in a pool of water.
Some monochrome designs in a sand and limestone palette seemed constructed from a continuous piece of fabric and featured circular cut-out motifs. Ornament became structure and structure transformed into ornament, while three-dimensional effects also morphed into flat prints that still retained a three-dimensional quality about them as they were inspired by river-eroded stones.
This motif was recreated using a time-honoured Japanese dye-dropping technique called suminagashi from the Fukui Prefecture. Also known as "floating ink", this art was born in Japan after the year 1000 as a technique to dye paper using ink (sumi) floating (nagashi) on water. The traces left by the ink are then transferred onto a sheet of rice paper that is laid upon the water.
These effects gave the pieces depth and tactility, qualities we have lost in the digital fashion age ushered in by Coronavirus.
Raw wool was employed for shirtdresses and trench-jumpsuits to give structure to these sculptural garments. Kondo used the semantics of the earth to create an architectural language with a focus on shapes and textures and celebrate the organic spiritual vitality of the earth, while manipulating form to create distortions in figures and shapes.
The heavily geometrical configurations and surface elaborations were maybe a reaction to the emphasis on computational matter and the proliferation of digital and intangible products (CryptoArt anybody?) we have experienced in the last year or so, and a way to re-shift the attention on tangible pieces with a heavily tactile quality about them.
As a whole the collection was also an ode to performativity and capability, but also to adaptation and flexibility, two key concepts of survival, something that goes very well with the times we are living in.
Some of the techniques employed in this collection were also used in the recently released "Type-O" series from the "Steam Stretch" line of the "A-POC (A Piece of Clothing) Able Issey Miyake" brand (led by design team directed by Yoshiyuki Miyamae).
The series features for example a blouson with a three-dimensional geometric pattern woven from polyester made from partially plant-based materials as well as a cotton and polyester blend.
The "Steam Stretch" technique developed by the brand shrinks cloth by applying hot steam. First special threads shrunken with heat are woven with other threads; when the steam is applied only the special thread parts shrink. By only shrinking the intended parts of the piece of woven cloth, three-dimensional patterns and shapes are created. The peculiarity about these pieces is that, though the surface texture of these piece is usually extremely elaborate, the pieces remain wearable and functional.
This passion for surfaces and constructions, but also versatility and functionality are the fundaments of Issey Miyake's new men's wear brand, IM Me. The latter - characterised by a logo inspired by a motif by graphic designer Taku Satoh who based it on the one originally designed by Ikko Tanaka in 1979 (previously employed for non-clothing products) - is replacing the company's Issey Miyake Men. The collection recently debuted in the brand's Tokyo's Aoyama store, but it will become more widely available in future.
The first collection for this line features geometric constructions, experimental processes and recycled materials, and again there is an emphasis in these pieces on fabrics and on the technical effects that can enhance the shape of the body.
Fabric development and materials (among the others plant-based and recycled polyester, paper, and cotton) are two of the principles behind the series included in this line.
One of them is called "flat men" and it is made with lightweight and wrinkle resistant polyester made with an environmentally friendly production process and derived from sugarcane. The items in this series such as a coat or a jacket can be easily folded, something that turns them into great travelling options.
Another series - called "packable PE" - is instead dedicated to fans of transformative fashion. It features indeed items like a wrinkle-free coat with built-in shoulder straps: when it gets too warm it can be easily transformed and folded back into a backpack that has enough space for everyday essentials.
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