The designer’s signature hybrids were more harmonious, based on the idea of two “similar ideas being merged together.”
Shown alongside looks from the women’s pre-collection, the designer’s signature hybrids were more harmonious, based on the concept of two “similar ideas being merged together” in a wardrobe open to diversity and variety.
Chitose Abe kicked off with deconstructions of the classic tailored silhouette, revisiting dressy, tuxedo-style looks, black tailoring and classical gray wool suits as breezy, summery silhouettes.
Slogans wove through, including on a black T-shirt marked with Neil Armstrong’s first utterings when taking his first steps on the moon, worn over a gray deconstructed jacket and pants with striped lining fabric exposed along the sleeves. There also were T-shirts with lines taken from the cult movie classic “The Big Lebowski.”
The designer’s exercise in alleviating conventional tailoring took on a romantic allure in the men’s looks accessorized with large, asymmetric hats as the slouchy, asymmetrical, unraveling effect of the tailoring continued on the big tailored coats and jackets, worn layered and flowing open on one side.
A white T-shirt marked with the line, “That rug really tied the room together,” was worn over a camel short-sleeved shirt with fabric lining spilling out, paired with a matching, deconstructed, tailored pant with satin side-bands severed at the bottom, also to expose the lining. Abe also experimented with a new 2D flat cut that took on new 3D volumes when worn.
For women, traditional bib front shirt-and-pant silhouettes morphed into flowing, trompe l’oeil, caftan-style dresses with undone bow ties draped at the collar, while a delightful tropical theme towards the end saw pineapples and palm trees stamped on looks, including dreamy takes on Hawaiian shirting.
