When viewing the Sacai men's and Resort collections side by side, the notion of being cut from the same cloth feels simultaneously accurate and insufficient. Because of course, Sacai articles rarely result from cloth in the singular sense. Yet there was something exciting about the overlap between these two offerings—that the buffalo checks, Peruvian patterning, and original Paradise Garage muscleman logo were equally distributed. The sharing of such haphazard elements also reinforced what Sacai's go-to guy, Daisuke Gemma, described as a "chaotic" jumble of gender, era, and reference. Even so, it was easy enough to identify the source material, like the classic M1-A bomber jacket coaxed into a long parka in starry lace, or tweaked so that the orange lining extended past the leather shell. A misaligned boater sweater and the two-for-one trench parka attested to all the added workmanship—and consequently upped your desire because you know they've undergone several cycles of evolution from their humble beginnings.
When the permutations seemed less clear (the tiles of multicolored lace might nod to Arts and Crafts or Gerhardt Richter), you ultimately realized the guessing game doesn't much matter. What does—what always has—are Chitose Abe's volumes, which remained fearless in their deviations. In addition to all the familiar A-line variations and deflated balloons, she explored longer lengths in this collection, whether with modern-day transparency or else in the same manner as her now-signature Edwardian collars. This new, comparatively easy softness will not go unnoticed among those who admire but feel overwhelmed by Sacai's silhouettes. Likewise the two dresses that suggest Abe stretching out her wings into eveningwear. Reduced down to robes with sweatshirt-style silk pleated accents and just one angle of exposure (back or leg), their design brought stunning order to the chaos.
