When it comes to decoding Junichi Abe’s womenswear designs for Kolor, it typically behooves the viewer to first look to his menswear for clues. For Fall 2016, that meant tracking across the gender lines a leopard spot effect that spread across the lower hemisphere of check-patterned coats and the faux astrakhan that flocked along the top of a black wrapper. But gender lines have never really been much of an issue here, with women regularly showing up on Abe’s runway in January, and really, the Kolor customer is one who thinks more often in layers than in terms of “his” and “hers.” To that end, a gray-check peacoat with generous lapels was made of double-face suiting that sandwiched a spongy foam filament, which meant two things: Sag-proof suiting, and for the ladies, a coat that will stand up for you! Really, what more could you ask for in your outerwear?
The season’s inspiration came from a desire to reconsider what a spokesperson explained as “organisms,” namely, organic matter. If that sounds a little broad, well, it was; both animal and plant motifs were in play as a swirl of prints or the faux-fur jackets and faux-fur skirts worn with pairs of (real) fur shoes. Abe isn’t the first designer to find inspiration in the delicate stasis of the world around him. He isn’t even the first this week—Rick Owens cited his recent consumption of Elizabeth Kolbert’s The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History as a jumping-off point only a few days ago. But Abe didn’t seem to have doomsday particularly in mind, his tartan toppers erupting in gleeful frills at the hem, and his sweatshirts emblazoned with roaring tigers and the words “Peace Begins With a Smile.” From his sportswear to God’s ears.
