Maison Kitsuné’s Pre-Fall and men’s collections once again shared the same source material: Hayao Miyazaki’s film The Wind Rises. It’s a resourceful tactic that also presents well in stores, especially when couples decide they want matching Mount Fuji sweaters. With each season, however, the women’s offering becomes more and more developed, its personality more defined. A few months from now, the Maison Kitsuné girl will find an aviator jacket and sailor stripe Japanese cotton tee—both suitably sized—but she’ll also find a number of charming dresses in finely finished Japanese twill. Deciding between the one with a blue Vichy-checked back and the kimono-inspired style in the Japanese landscape camouflage won’t be easy. She’ll also justify the need for a blouse (or two) embellished with ruffled yoke detailing or scalloped eyelet collars, because they fill some sort of nostalgic wardrobe void.
Normally, the risk in committing to such season-specific items is that they become the equivalent of one-hit wonders. Soon enough, there will be a new version of the sweater covered in vintage planes with feathered wings (a key reference to the film). But spend enough time speaking with cofounder Gildas Loaëc, and you come to understand that pieces like the corduroy tunic and cropped duffle coat aren’t designed with an expiration date. They do, however, still skew young—certainly more so than the menswear. At least Kitsuné girls have the advantage of playing both ways.
