Mood board: There was a cheery start to day seven of Paris Fashion Week, as Kanye West delivered a euphoric early morning Sunday Service, featuring 100 gospel singers, and Issey Miyake’s Satoshi Kondo delivered his sophomore collection as lead designer for the Japanese label. Miyake’s shows are always smile inducing, animated and energetic, and Kondo kicked off with two illustrators drawing two graphic figures on a huge sheet of paper at the head of the runway. These forms were then scissored, with three models striding through their empty silhouettes, sporting white tube dresses bordered with black outlines, inspired by the concept of drawing clothing and cutting it out. Elsewhere, beaming models (a runway rarity but common at Miyake) sported Kondo’s newly designed fabrics, from colour blocked asymmetric dresses, hand knitted to evoke the kneading of clay and illustrating the importance of hand craft, satin pyjamas and parachute shirt dresses in abstract prints, inspired by smudged forms and translucent origami like bodysuits, inspired by gently falling snow.
Best in show: A series of modular padded outerwear looks in striking shades of tangerine, sherbet yellow and silver were made using an extra fine nylon yarn, and featured trousers which could be handily unzipped into shorts and long coats which could be transformed into shorter jackets.
Finishing touches: Knee-high boots have bolstered many looks on the A/W 2020 runways (see Saint Laurent’s slick Allen Jones-centric latex versions or Halpern and Christian Louboutin’s tiger stripe styles with sculptural heels). Miyake offered a sportier, more day-to-day version, culminating in flat knee-high boots with chubby tractor soles. §
