PARIS TO TOKYO
THE BEST AND THE BUZZ
The Fashion Weeks of Spring/Summer 2022 in Pairs, Tokyo, and Seoul have all shown that, much like those in New York, Milan, and London, the party is officially back. Let’s take a look at the most recent cities to showcase their latest collections.
PARIS
Paris Fashion Week, which kicked off September 27th, had almost too many iconic moments to mention. At Balmain, over 6,000 guests (yes, 6,000) attended a sublime show that capped off a 2-day Balmain-run music festival. The show featured both mens and womenswear, with Balmain’s signature sharp lines taking center stage. Highlights included superb backless tailoring for men, Instagram-friendly slides, and a chainlink motif that metaphorically and physically connected the entire collection together. After a raucous preamble by none other than Beyonce, Creative Director Olivier Rousteing showcased an archival capsule collection, derived from his favorite pieces during his past decade at the helm of the label. Opened by Naomi Campbell and closed by Carla Bruni, the capsule was arguably the best part of the entire two-day event.
Chanel, much like Balmain, gave us a nod to its history when the show opened a la Karl Lagerfeld’s salacious show in 1993 – a parade of briefs, swimsuits, and sports bras were proudly shown as outerwear. The show continued to appreciate the label’s history with stiff, 1960s-looking dresses that evoked Chanel’s classic tweed suit, along with butterfly-printed denim that provided yet another throwback to the feeling of cautious optimism.
For Givenchy, it was all about the 1940s. In what was almost like a precursor to a couture collection, every surface and texture of the garments were worked to an extreme degree, making the fine details visible to even the back of the room. Creative Director Matthew M. Williams partnered with New York artist Josh Smith, and interpreted Smith’s abstract paintings into a not-usually-Williams sea of color and animated prints (think clowns, balloons, etc).
Over at Louis Vuitton, the immaculate garments being displayed (and closing out Paris Fashion Week) were almost all but overshadowed by protestors storming the runway to advocate against overconsumption. On behalf of a number of French activist groups, including Les Amis de la Terre, Youth for Climate France, and Extinction Rebellion France, protestors leapt up on the runway holding signs reading “OVERCONSUMPTION = EXTINCTION.” They were quickly “escorted” off the runway (you can find videos of this all over the internet), but love it or hate it, this was the main takeaway from a show that undoubtedly took a lot of time to prepare.
TOKYO
Tokyo Fashion Week is arguably among the most exciting of world Fashion Weeks, and for good reason. The creativity, originality, and technological displays all make for exciting shows and most importantly, superb fashion. One such designer who embraced technology for her Spring/Summer 2022 show was Tae Ashida, Creative Director of Jun Ashida, one of Tokyo’s oldest brands. In order to bring the storied label into the lens of tech, Ashida shot on the latest Canons using volumetric video, filming with thousands of lenses from 360 degrees. This gave the audience a high-definition view of every angle of each garment, and made the clothes look good in resolutions and angles beyond what the human eye alone can perceive.
Exuberance in sartorial excess was the name of the game at HARE. Much like a kid piling his bag to the brim at a candy store, models had piece after piece layered on at the label’s Spring/Summer 2022 show. Whereas many labels celebrated an excess of skin for Fall/Winter 2021, HARE did the exact opposite this season, championing an excess of fabric. Textures abounded as well, from crocheted minidresses to PVC shoes, resulting in a show where the styling felt more cohesive than the clothes themselves.
Over at Ryunosukeokazaki, one would think that Creative Director Ryunosuke Okazaki rooted his Spring/Summer 2022 collection in futurism. The fantastical pieces showed a sci-fi sleekness, along with artful uses of color. However, the collection is actually inspired by Japan’s Jōmon period, which lasted from 4,000 to 300 BC. With a masterful understanding of symmetry, Okazaki showed his appreciation for nature’s purity with his penchant for endless spirals and loops, which echo the shapes found in plant life. Given the fact that Okazaki only just graduated from college, he’ll be a McQueen-esque designer to watch for years to come.
SEOUL
Unlike many other cities who have begun to stage in-person fashion shows for their Spring/Summer 2022 seasons, Seoul’s was again completely virtual. Which isn’t a bad thing, given all the advancements in technology, and how deft Korean designers are with said tech.
BMUET(TE), which also showed during London fashion week, embraced a rebellious yet sophisticated aesthetic for Spring/Summer 2022. Creative Directors Seo Byung-mun and Um Ji-na, who started the brand back in 2017, went into the upcoming season with a goal of “dreamy deviation,” allowing people to escape their own realistic self image. Their Seoul showing took a deeper dive into the collection than that of its London showing, and the label’s signature punk-revolution-with-luxury-twist aesthetic was grouped into a “Surplus Reality” theme. Androgynous silhouettes, structural design, and a monochrome palette combined to take the label’s elegant rawness to the next level.
Vegan Tiger, Seoul’s first all-vegan label, goes beyond the limits of just vegan fashion. The label incorporates artwork into its designs, and always strives to find the best vegan materials to work with, resulting in a brand that elevates streetwear to new, cruelty-free heights. Vegan Tiger was founded by Yang Yoo-na, an industry veteran who made the decision to become a vegan fashion pioneer after witnessing a truly traumatic incident at a Korean farm (we’ll let you Google it). The label also donates five percent of its profits to anti-fur and animal protection movements. The recent Spring/Summer 2022 show, which premiered at a beautiful outdoor venue on October 15th, featured various textiles made from used materials, such as paper, stickers, and even gift wrap. Vibrant color, bold patterns, and flowy silhouettes dominated the collection, as well as beautifully-cut vegan leather pieces, such as a black skirt with metal eyelets and a gorgeous red trenchcoat. As is the case with many of the Seoul labels, Vegan Tiger’s elevated streetwear game is unmatched – we especially have our eye on those studded vegan leather chokers.
