Kolor is a closely guarded secret quickly becoming disclosed. Junichi Abe is tight-lipped about his motivations and tight-fisted about its distribution: He's been known to turn stores away for seasons before allowing them their order forms.
The tide is lately turning. Last season, he debuted the collection on the Paris runway, and for his sophomore show, the seats were filled with international editors and retailers alike. The Kolor look is largely constant. It relies on custom-developed Japanese fabrics—cottons, polys, Cupros, and so on—often melded one atop another over the shifting terrain of a single piece. For the opening look, bands of mauve silk fluttered along the hems of a pair of hardier shorts. That set the tone for the collection. Abe's tailoring is feather-light, given to swing, and often looks like it's enjoyed a long bath. Structure is stricture in Kolor's world, which is why even pants that begin with a tailored waistband to the north descend into lounge pant territory below. Familiar to the faithful, but that crowd should continue to grow. It wears its washing well.
