“Purposeful messiness.” This is a quote given by Kolor’s Juniche Abe this afternoon, in describing his very good Spring collection, that stuck. He was referring to a technical, riotously colored windbreaker jacket, each part a different organ (some webbing, some nylon, some striping). This piece alone flexed the creatively colorful muscle of its designer. And in this deliberate chaos, Abe found a stable, strong beat.
Other things to note: a non-stretch fabric that Abe called “concrete,” which gave a semi-boxy structure to a jumper. This was appealing. Tailored elements, in tropical wools, lent a formal foil to the kaleidoscopic sportiness elsewhere. Mountaineering accents, too, found their ways onto pockets and belts.
The coolest thing about this collection, though, and in processing it, was seeing Abe’s lookbook (click through the slideshow after reading this). He photographed his models in situ at Tokyo’s Shibuya Station, a place that many say is the busiest intersection in the world in terms of foot traffic. The takeaway: The clothes fit right in with the masses, but jump out at the same time. That’s not an easy thing to pull off. Abe continues to prove that he can make salable garments that break free from the crowd.
