Rei Kawakubo’s flair for elaborate construction was everywhere evident in her Fall ’98 show, which she titled “Fusion.” This was a collection of complicated clothes over which much labor had been spent as the designer grafted and collaged different types of garments into unique pieces, including one-armed tops and inside-out coats.
Conceived in the round almost like sculptures, Kawakubo’s designs needed to be seen from all angles. They projected an air of seriousness and austerity, as did the unsmiling models who wore their hair slicked back and their faces clean, save for one horizontal black line drawn between each eye and eyebrow. The transformation of “sexy” girls, such as pillow-lipped Esther Cañadas and curvy Frankie Rayder, into modern minimalists was almost as astonishing as the clothes.
