It’s been a long time since we saw Miyake’s Plissé posse in Paris. Upon this morning’s return, it was as if they had never been away. As so often in the past this was a show dedicated to demonstrating the remarkable freedom of movement that wearing these free-flowing fabrics affords.
To demonstrate this a cast of athletic models—there was lots of running back and forth—were joined by acrobatic dancers from the Chaillot Theatre National de la Danse. After 10 or so looks had been modeled relatively prosaically in that the wearers just walked, a dozen of these dancers emerged from behind a scaffold and proceeded to stand on each other's shoulders and sling each other about like juggling clubs.
The garments, of course, remained completely serene, accordion-ing in whatever direction their wearer’s contortion demanded. Variations included pieces with curved hems that arced towards the chest, coats wearable waist-length or knee-length depending on how you tweaked them, jazzy split-leg culottes and tops patterned after cotton plants, and some dashing evening wear with a pant-shape inspired by the tapered silhouette of a lily. It was the fashion show equivalent of listening to whalesong: completely relaxing. Miyake pieces can look a bit culty, but it’s a cult you’d be very comfortable in.
