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I like the conceptual idea of this collection even in its presentation...
You know what, I've come to the conclusion lately that Junya mens is the 'anti-Yohji.' I've yet to see somebody get away with both in their wardrobe. I mean sure, you can probably go ahead and have purchased pieces from both designers...yet I can't think of a combo that is more holistically at opposite ends of the design spectrum, both philosophically and aesthetically.
I haven't tried on many Junya's jackets, but that exact effect in the pic you quoted ^^^, XenoX, is on some intangible level the evocative visceral response I get looking at a lot of his menswear, except for the biker/travis bickle collections. (guess this post also clarifies what i meant above by my somewhat vague association btwn JW mens and YYPH).
I can absolutely see why this collection would be regarded as unremarkable and as something that doesn't need a runway show, but I'd like to respond to a couple of the critisizms made:
1 Clearly this is not the sort of thing that would interest Heirloom personally, which equally clearly is absolutely fine, but I don't agree that you wouldn't notice someone wearing this. Sure, not in the same way you'd perhaps notice someone wearing a big dramatic black outfit, but if you move away from the idea that menwear has to be dramatically different to "the norm" to have validity or appeal, the point of these clothes is the details - cut, colours, fabrics, slighlty off-kilter aspects. I believe that even without noticing these particular aspects, the resulting product is such that there is a definite "difference" to the norm. (I'm not saying that's a good or bad thing, just responding to the point made by Heirloom and others.) When the show is over and you see the models walking off to their next job, in their jeans and tees, they look very ordinary, and very different to how they looked 10 minutes earlier.
2 I don't think it's lazy either. There's a concept being used, the music, the venue, the show invitations (see Tim Blanks' review on Style.com - he still does them). There is a huge amount of thought put into these clothes. They are beautifully made. Superficially they might appear like something from Banana Republic, but we should be looking at more than the superficial here (on SZ).
When I saw the show invitation I was worried since it looked like he was going to be going back to random "uniforms" - this time something air force related, but thankfully not (Mr Blanks explains this quite well). I would have been surprised anyway, since I think that he is clearly in a rhythm with his menswear now, refining the idea of classic clothes, with different historical reference points or inspirations. Personally I think it's intersting to see how he's developed from his first men's collections. What he does now is far more sophisitcated and nuanced. Also quite interestingly, I think that his menswear is overtaking his womenswear, and my impression is that he almost feels more comfortable with menswear now - his men's clothes seem to influence his womenswear, certainly more than the other way around.
By the way, there are biker details on some of the jackets at the end, that you can't see in the pics - they have zippers on the wrists. The last section of jackets have leather sections, mostly on the arms, and some quite intricate cutting details, like suits of armour. I actually think Faust would like them!
Had a chance to visit the showroom today. I didn't attend either show, but just from photos online, I had much preferred this Junya collection to the CDG H+ collection. However in person, the H+ really came alive for me (which is often the case when you judge clothing solely on photos) and the Junya collection fell somewhat flat.
somebody, please kick this guy in the pants with a biker boot so he shits out some nice motorcycle jackets for a change...
Some nice news for you Faust is that Junya teamed up with Vanson again to produce a leather motorcycle jacket similar to the F/W 2007 ones, however I'm fairly certain that the new version using a heavy leather. It's some of the heaviest and toughest I've felt. They will be offered in black, red, and blue. Here's a photo of yours truly wearing one.
Tried on an awesome khaki jacket from this collection at DSM. Don't see it on the catwalk though. Really great fit and finish. Would be awesome for London weather.
This jacket
In this fabric
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde
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