Titled Silent Energy, Yoshiyuki Miyamae’s collection for Issey Miyake was a technologically advanced meditation on nature that sometimes resembled pagan folk dress from some alternative civilization. The set—in the basement of the Palais de Tokyo—was a few sparse stacks of glowing tubes meant to resemble campfires. Around them wandered some, at first, wintry, and later, much more colorful, future-primitives swathed in raiments that only Miyake’s technical capacity could have produced.
A scrunchy demi-synthetic fabric that came textured in tightly ribbed, loosely undulating waves was the connective membrane that ran through many of the looks. At first, in snowy white and mixed with what looked like tufted variations of itself and (I’m guessing) faux fur ornament, it looked a little Dune x Game of Thrones. There was a nicely swathing down jacket over some furry pants and a furry turtleneck tabard over a skirt in the wave material.
Then, just as seemed to be happening in the real world here this afternoon, spring sprang: Color slowly enveloped the collection. At first, it was tentative: some bark brown pants and strapped sneaker-boots under another white shift. Then, the wavy fabric was deployed in navy separates, bronze pants, and garments that contrasted the two. The silhouettes grew fuller. Odd, vaguely botanical headwear sprouted forth after a faux fur Muppet moment. Patchworked, increasingly layered garments resembled plowed, irregularly-shaped meadows seen from above. A cowled fuchsia and charcoal coat over some great looking tapered gray wool pants looked both ceremonial and coralline.
