Given Junya Watanabe’s formidable range as a designer – he might explore sci-fi futurism one season, then punk style or formalwear the next – there’s usually an element of surprise when the show lights come up.
Not on Friday. The chilly concrete venue for his fall show was plastered with advertising posters for the outdoorsy American brand Filson, foreshadowing the Japanese designer’s latest collaboration.
Burly and more mature models are trending this menswear season, and members of Watanabe’s cast had bushy beards, long white hair and cowboy gaits.
They wore versions of Filson’s “jac shirts” or work and cruiser jackets patch-worked with leather, buffalo checks, tartan, insulated quilting, and safety orange fabrics.
Fashionistas might detect some Dsquared2 vibes, but many people might look at these ruggedly-dressed men and think about truck stops, country hardware stores – or hipster coffee shops.
Speaking to reporters backstage, Watanabe likened Filson, a heritage outfitter founded in 1897, to Levi’s, with which he continues to collaborate. “It feels the same as Levi’s 501s, that also exist for a long” time, he said.
The designer acknowledged that the lumberjack look was trending in Japan about 10 to 15 years ago, just as it was in Williamsburg and Seattle, but he could not be drawn into explaining the rationale for the latest revival.
To be sure, there were some very cool jeans and pants, as usual chez Junya Watanabe, but the clothes felt too familiar and overall the show fell flat.
