Sacai A/W 2019 Paris Fashion Week Women’s

Moodboard: Hybridisation is a key word for Chitose Abe. More and more in the last few years, her brand Sacai has been defined by that concept, but its meaning has changed with time. Lately, it mostly meant clothes divided vertically, combining two different pieces in one. Monday’s show, however, proved that the Japanese designer has evolved. At the basement of the Palais de Tokyo, she showed a collection that was all about layering, but also one that perfectly exemplified where fashion is heading this season.
Best in show: It was a focused show that toyed with fashion’s current obession with bourgeois codes. The silhouette was strong at the shoulders, voluminous yet cinched at the waist, and what the layering did was combine different – and unexpected – pieces of clothing. Abe said the inspiration came from her own youth, when she layered Ralph Lauren kids’ button-downs over vintage dresses. Thus, cropped jackets, fitted perfectos and mini parkas were associated with maxi trenchcoats, elongated bomber jackets and quilted knee-length outerwear. But the designer also focused on knitwear, creating a series of chunky Fair Isle sweaters opened on the side and zipped horizontally. Pieces that clearly demanded less of the wearer yet were truly unique.
Finishing touches: Abe usually loves a good slogan tee, usually inserting one or two in her collections almost as an unexpected in-joke. This time, though, she swapped it for a dripping paint print, inspired, she said, by Jackson Pollock (not his canvases, but as in the paint-covered floor of his studio). Several long coats were covered in it too. Accessories also caught the audience’s eye. This season, Sacai collaborated with two other brands in their creation: French-born Charlotte Chesnais designed the golden pieces of jewellery, mostly in the shape of delicate earcuffs, while Tokyo-based brand Native Sons was responsible for the old-Celine-worthy sunglasses.
Sacai A/W 2019
Sacai A/W 2019
Sacai A/W 2019
Sacai A/W 2019
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
Caribbean cool meets mid-century glamour at this new LA hotspot
From golden mirrored chambers to jerk-spiced tomahawk steaks, Lucia reimagines Afro-Caribbean dining and design
-
Tour this fire-resilient minimalist weekend retreat in California
A minimalist weekend retreat was designed as a counterpoint to a San Francisco pied-à-terre; Edmonds + Lee Architects’ Amnesia House in Napa Valley is a place for making memories
-
Love, community, anti-gay laws: the queer African artists redefining visibility through portraits
In honour of Pride Month, Ugonnaora Owoh speaks to three artists on African queer legacies and their optimism in advocating for queer rights through art
-
What the Wallpaper* editors are looking forward to at Men’s Fashion Week S/S 2026
As Men’s Fashion Week S/S 2026 begins in Florence, the Wallpaper* style team select the moments they will be looking out for – from Jonathan Anderson’s anticipated Dior debut to outings from Wales Bonner, Kiko Kostadinov and Prada
-
Donna Trope celebrates the power of the Polaroid in Paris
‘Polaroids used to be my rejects, and now they are my holy grail,’ says the beauty photographer, as she shows rarely seen images in a Paris exhibition
-
‘Don’t forget to get the bread!’ Serge Lutens writes an ode to a singular perfume
Published exclusively by Wallpaper*, Serge Lutens writes an ode to Jeux de Peau, a singular perfume of his creation inspired by a childhood memory of baking bread
-
What did Christian Dior’s favourite ‘invisible’ flower smell like?
Dior’s Francis Kurkdijan recreates the scent of a rare lily of the valley species in Le Muguet, the first olfactory chapter of new perfume collection Les Récoltes Majeures
-
Inside Camperlab’s Harry Nuriev-designed Paris store, a dramatic exercise in contrast
The Crosby Studios founder tells Wallpaper* the story behind his new store design for Mallorcan shoe brand Camperlab, which centres on an interplay between ‘crushed concrete’ and gleaming industrial design
-
How an 18th-century mansion became a Loewe wonderland for Paris Fashion Week
Drawing on the act of scrapbooking, Jonathan Anderson took over the Hôtel de Maisons with a self-reflective A/W 2025 presentation, shown alongside colourful artworks from the brand’s collection
-
Inside Sarah Burton’s debut show for Givenchy: ‘To go forward, you have to go back to the beginning’
This morning in Paris, the former Alexander McQueen designer unveiled her anticipated debut as creative director of Givenchy – a musing on contemporary womanhood sparked by the discovery of lost Hubert de Givenchy pattern pieces
-
‘Azzedine Alaïa - Thierry Mugler’: new Paris exhibition puts two fashion greats in conversation
‘Azzedine Alaïa - Thierry Mugler’ at Fondation Azzedine Alaïa explores the affinity and friendship between two designers who redefined 1980s and 1990s fashion. Curator Olivier Saillard tells Wallpaper* about the unique show