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Junya Watanabe Men's SS12 - Paris

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  • Magic1
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2011
    • 225

    #16
    His womenswear is so creative and awesome. How can he possibly put this stuff out? I honestly don't really understand how someone's vision of menswear and womenswear can be so disparate--I don't think I've seen any designer with as different of a vision for the two. I guess now that I think of it, it isn't necessarily bad for someone to design very different characters and aesthetics for men and women, but I just can't get into this at all.
    I'm all for designing for the "real guy," but in any case, when was the last time any of this was the "real guy?" Most of the people buying this, I feel, wish they had the simple lifestyle of this character, or they wish they earned their money in a more honest, humble way. But very few people fit into this character and the ones that do, are not watching fashion shows, shopping in barneys, or paying junya prices.

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    • gohn
      Member
      • Mar 2009
      • 49

      #17
      Many Japanese designers enjoy the amekaji style アメカジ, it is a challenge for Junya, maybe it won't be success, but it is good to try

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      • cjbreed
        Senior Member
        • Feb 2009
        • 2712

        #18
        chilton - i get what you are saying. i really do. and there are garments out there that can satisfy your perfectly understandable inclinations. but in this instance i think that magic1 has a good point. this is junya watanabe, not carhartt. not even woolrich woolen mills or engineered garments, but junya (comme des garcon!). given his pedigree and what the pricetag on these overalls is likely to be then anyone wearing them is simply playing dress up. its a mockery. the 2nd problem here is that this is a major step backward in the "americana" vein for junya.
        dying and coming back gives you considerable perspective

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        • Johnny
          Senior Member
          • Sep 2006
          • 1923

          #19
          what dissappoints me about this is not so much the overalls. they're just a bit silly. i see them (as a Watanabe fan) much the same way I'd imagine Faust (as a Rick fan) seeing Rick dresses - let's skip past them and look at the other stuff. And the other stuff is fine, but it's just so similar to what he's done before that it does seem like he's sort of got stuck. It's not like the clothes are "neutral" in their influences and reference points (like, say, Stephan Schneider) - it's very heavily themed Americana. leave out the overalls adn you have a pretty dull collection of outerwear and patchwork shirts and jeans, very similar to what he's done before and to stuff like Engineered Garments etc. The clothes will be lovely, beautifully finished and detailed, but I don't think this is enough any more.

          what i would say about this, in its defence, is that it is steadfastly unglamorous, which is something I like and something that does fit with his "real clothes" idea. a lot of the SZ stuff seems to be a bit glam and flash to me. a little dramatic? I noticed that Beyonce's dancers at Glasto were wearing Rick.

          but in any case, this stuff is so far away from anything that is customarily appreciated on sz that there is really little point in posting it.

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          • several_girls
            Senior Member
            • Nov 2010
            • 218

            #20
            Originally posted by Chilton0326
            I think the new breed of Japanese designers (White Mountaineering, etc) seem to have learned a lot from folks like Watanabe, and I just don't see their work as a fad. Well-made conventional looks with subtle detailing amount to clothes you wear, not resell.
            Americana is just as much of a fad as Rick Owens, Demeulemeester, Boris Bidjan Saberi or Poell. In fact, White Mountaineering and Woolrich Woolen Mills are recent startups, along with many other Nepenthes associated labels. Their very existence was prompted by the surge in interest for selvedge denim.

            I'm not trying to defend one thing or attack the other; I'd just hope you can see how calling something in high fashion a fad is a cheap shot. Everything is a fad if you adjust your chronology properly.

            I also wouldn't call Watanabe conventional. His color blocking and fabric patching is surely something closer to couture than to the Gap. His tailoring is contemporary. It's not as severe as Dior Homme or Taralis, but it's comparable to MMM, Thom Browne and Prorsum.

            Adam Kimmel would be the most "conventional" designer that still does a fashion week presentation, IMHO.

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            • several_girls
              Senior Member
              • Nov 2010
              • 218

              #21
              I do actually like this collection!

              You're right in that Watanabe doesn't compromise his vision to what's trendy on the runway. Overalls and gardening doesn't really sell fashion magazines (although I think in this instance it would be the magazine's deficiency, not Watanabe's), nor is it titillating enough to get an editorial spread in Purple. He's clearly doing what he wants here. And the stakes are higher since he must be aware he's a part of this whole CdG fashion house legacy, whatever that may be.

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              • Faust
                kitsch killer
                • Sep 2006
                • 37852

                #22
                Johnny, I agree with your assessment. But I think we post Junya here because his talent demands attention regardless of his style. In a way that's paying respect.
                Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde

                StyleZeitgeist Magazine

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                • Bad Poster
                  Junior Member
                  • Mar 2011
                  • 5

                  #23
                  For some reason I really love this collection. The blocky, rectangular silhouettes strike me as a sort of thematic continuation of some of his work with CdG. It's definitely not what I was expecting, but it's still cool in a sort of English country Wurzel chic way. Perhaps in a year's time we will all be wearing galoshes???

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