"What's new?" is the most fundamental question in fashion, and it looked like Dai Fujiwara had an answer for it when he called his latest collection for Issey Miyake News Mix. Except that he actually meant North, East, West, and South—all points of the compass that inspired his prints, textures, and silhouettes. There is scarcely much fashion news in ethnic borrowings, and Fujiwara's pell-mell mix of everything from Celtic motifs to Pakistani myths to Japanese artisanal dyeing techniques occasionally veered toward the incoherent side of random, with macramélike mesh and a brocade coat-dress sharing the catwalk. Still, in isolation, there were winning pieces, like the caftan bordered in blue with an eggshell shade coloring the fabric as though the dye had run, or a floating black silk gown with a more traditional Japanese motif. And, as usual, there was no denying the ingenuity of much of the patchworking and hand-painting. Adding to the random feel was the way the models roamed backward and forward across the square of the catwalk. For the finale, they started making sense, falling into a rhythm for one last turn in a series of beautiful dresses that encapsulated all the elements of Fujiwara's global vision. It was a lovely moment, one that made even Joanna Newsom's mewing on the soundtrack appealing.
