“Different, but the same,” is how Junichi Abe described Kolor—generally, nonseason specific. Sounds like an analyst’s dream when it comes to luxury goods, because essentially that’s the golden mean: How to create something that satisfies fashion’s inbuilt craving for the new without alienating core customers, and conservative ones at that?
That does Abe a disservice, directing attention to the bottom line rather than the creatively satisfying. This Kolor collection was about travel, as everything seems to be for Spring. “He goes around, he gets inspired,” explained Abe, simply, not snubbing his nose but certainly shrugging his shoulders at the whole notion of defining a collection through words rather than actions. He grabbed a few of the garments to better display the details that made the pieces sing: like the fact that his neon pink polyester shorts shrunk by 15 percent in the process of dyeing and hence ruched, accidentally, at the seams; or that a feather-light madras check, polyester again on one side but cotton on the reverse, was worn to clash with a Moorish geometric. Knitwear had winking bands of transparency laid across the chest, freeing the nipples of his male models—that was visible from the audience, but maybe not in images. Which is a clever ruse. It avoids his audience getting bored.
The cultural and ethnic references rapidly piled up, from jangling coin medallions on American penny loafers to diaper-wrap dhoti trousers to the kimono silks of bombers. The unifying elements were the slick sportswear shapes and solid desirability. These weren’t clothes that had a special, specific appeal; they could certainly slot into any man’s everyday wardrobe without feeling like too much of a “look.” Indeed, it’s easy to imagine a man owning a single Kolor piece—a tricked-out sport jacket, say, or a bubbly-textured trench—whose combination of experimental technique and innovative textiles especially appealed to him.
For some it’s a lifestyle choice; for others, it’s just a jacket. It’s not always all-encompassing—which is a brand notion many are trying to forcibly sell, but which Abe distances himself from. “I always think of balance,” he said of Kolor, and then launched into a litany of sartorial counterweights: “New and old, stiff and soft, natural and technical. If it’s right, I use it. It’s the mix that’s exciting.” Meaning it will mix into your existing closet, covertly.
