British outerwear brand Baracuta – still synonymous with the G9 Harrington jacket first crafted in England in 1937 – reveals its latest collaboration today, teaming up with Junya Watanabe to create a reimagined version of the G9 imbued with the Japanese designer’s avant-garde sensibility and eye for cut and form (Watanabe was a protégé of Rei Kawakubo and remains part of the Comme des Garçons group).
Watanabe was given free rein to rework the seminal garment – Baracuta note it was the designer’s ‘experience and ability to interpret’ that provided the roots of the collaboration – here focusing primarily on silhouette, expanding the G9’s proportions for an oversized fit. Watanabe approached the redesign through deconstruction, taking apart the original pattern and reimagining its shape in panels of varying fabrics for a subtle feeling of patchwork. The final jacket is all black, recalling both the original G9 Harrington and a classic bomber jacket.
Baracuta x Junya Watanabe
Baracuta x Junya Watanabe
Otherwise, Watanabe chose to retain many of the original G9’s features – namely the umbrella back yoke, classic two-button ‘dog ear’ collar, raglan sleeves and recognisable slanted pockets. The jacket also keeps the tartan lining of the original design, though here Baracuta’s recognisable Fraser tartan becomes mixed-up with a ‘punk-style’ tartan of Watanabe’s own choosing (in the collection’s accompanying images, the jacket is worn with a tartan kilt – one of the Japanese designer’s own iconic pieces).
The limited-edition Baracuta x Junya Watanabe jacket – which the brand call a ‘true collectable’ – is available from today (11 November 2022) on Baracuta’s website and in Eye, Comme des Garçons and Junya Watanabe retailers.
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