Junya Watanabe A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Men's

Three models in coats with different coloured patches and styles

Junya Watanabe A/W 2020. Photography: Jason Lloyd-Evans

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

Mood board: Junya Watanabe could teach our testy politicians a thing or two about the essence of collaboration. Since the early 1990s, he has worked in partnership with heritage brands and specialists in their fields to create hybrid garments. Collaboration – which has become a hackneyed ploy by so many brands for seasonal attention – becomes a meaningful project between experts. His partners always bring a certain tradition and knowledge to his modish approach to men’s everyday clothes.

Best in show: The A/W 2020 collection entitled ‘Classico’ coordinated Italian archetypes with streetwear sprezzatura and opened to the smoky trumpet of ‘Arlecchinata’ by Nini Rosso. The clothes paid homage to Italian motor sports, from Watanabe’s signature patchwork denims to the line of racing car leathers applied to jeans or cut with traditional suiting fabrics. The back of a leather biker was neatly spliced into a hunting jacket; nylon bombers were cut into windowpane check blazers. This was a retro uniform for grown-ups.

Team work: Alliances this season were multiple: on show were tapered and wide-leg jeans with Levi’s. New for the season was outerwear with French maritime manufacturer Guy Cotton and tailoring with Caruso. Icons of Italian motoring had logos applied across the collection – break manufacturer Brembo featured on a puffa cut into Crombie coat. Producer of cycling parts Campagnolo and motorcycle manufacturer Moto Guzzi helped channel the machismo meets retro/classic workwear mood.

Left: man in checked jacket with bright yellow on the sleeves. Right: man in houndstooth coat with red patches on the front and sleeves

Left: man wearing a suit jacket made up of different patterns. Right: man wearing a suit jacket with bright blue padded sections

Left: man in grey suit jacket with blue denim sections. Right: man in long grey coat with red padded sections on the front and sleeves

Left: man wearing a grey suit jacket with red padded sections and Pirelli logo. Right: man wearing long grey coat with sections of blue and yellow

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

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London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.