Junya Watanabe S/S 2010 / PFW / Day four

Underneath it all — the draping, the puffers, the jackets that came from the Rue Cambon, whatever is Junya Watanabe’s seasonal whim — he’s a master tailor. The collection he showed on Saturday was a fierce reminder that he can cut a suit like a razor. Out they came, impeccably sharp pants and perfect jackets in gray, black and gleaming blue sharkskin (yes, there was a Fifties thing afoot). It was severe but elegant tailoring pushed just beyond the traditional via thoughtful details: pants cut at the ankle bone, seams curved to an hourglass waist, a tuck at the peplum or a slit along the back seam. There were waistcoats and crisp white shirts, some gently draped at the bib or belly. And then back to the Fifties subplot with an explosion of black-and-white checkerboards on deflated tops and dresses, pulled and tucked in Watanabe’s typical asymmetrical style.

The designer is prone to crescendo his devices to an extreme, but here he stayed remarkably restrained. Suiting aside, the silhouettes boiled down to an oversize shirt worn with leggings, a look currently favored by the masses. Of course, in Watanabe’s hands, it was anything but banal.



































© by WWD / Photos by Giovanni Giannoni