Junya Watanabe Man S/S 2018
![male model on a fashion week runway wearing a camel coloured jacket and cross body bag](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/d4sY9G8mRVuWuzAxx7tXxc-415-80.jpg)
Mood board: A subtle theme during the S/S 2018 menswear shows has been the elevation of ‘normal’, perhaps best exemplified by Demna Gvasalia’s interpretation of ‘dad dressing’ at Balenciaga. Its muse is a suburban father on the office-to-school run. So what is the archetypal man’s wardrobe? Is it the sprezzatura and preening seen at Pitti Uomo in Florence or the glitzy sporty separates of Philipp Plein? What are the things that men who work, walk, run and cycle would actually wear? Junya Watanabe has explored this question for some time. For S/S 2018, the look married an urban workwear uniform alongside a sort of manly confidence. A suit was cut from vintage army cloth, its patina becoming its own patchwork. The street casting of men, not boys, grounded the collection – it felt real, believable and desirable.
Team work: We are used to seeing collaborations launched for the Instagram hits alone. Be it musicians recording songs or social media influencers moonlighting as models, it is the lifeblood of so many. Watanabe, however, has been working with the brands he loves for decades. S/S 2018 featured a number of partnerships with British brands including Turnbull & Asser for shirting; outdoor outfitters Karrimor for coats; and printmaker and typographic artist Alan Kitching, whose graphics could be seen on T-shirts. Longstanding partners Levi’s and Carhartt were also here – their utilitarian DNA was refreshed with new fabrication and cut. Forty-eight original styles from Carharrt were created in Watanabe’s choice of fabric and the proportion of Levis was dropped, their pockets elongated.
Finishing touches: S/S 2018 was all about the backpack – the Terra 65. This light, multi-pocket backpack with a refined Optifit harness system is split open and made into jackets too. The bag’s technical fabrication of 600D polyester, 420D mini-ripstop nylon maintains Watanabe’s heritage as a techno-couture designer. Also in the collection were two reversible coats made using the Karrimor Ridge 30 bag. Elsewhere, jackets and cargo trousers with leather patch pockets were worn with the baby blue check shirts or remodelled Turnbull & Asser classics. It is the new normal suit.
Junya Watanabe Man S/S 2018.
Junya Watanabe Man S/S 2018.
Junya Watanabe Man S/S 2018.
Junya Watanabe Man S/S 2018.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
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.
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published