Anrealage RTW Fall 2021
Kunihiko Morinaga likes to question our times — pre-pandemic, he had already used his collection to probe our obsession with living life behind a screen, and he returned to that theme for fall. This time, he turned the world turned upside down, cleverly making his designs look like they defied the effects of gravity and staging a double runway — one on the floor, the other on the ceiling.
The look: Usurped wardrobe staples — trenchcoats, ruffled dresses and sweaters, for example — took on new proportions, familiar yet not. Jacquard patterns like polka dots and houndstooth checks on voluminous coats were regular on one design, but shifted on its nonidentical twin, appearing to tumble toward the shoulders. On the runway in Morinaga’s sky, skirts and jeans were folded back on themselves, while collars and pocket flaps stood away from the body, as if drawn toward the ground. The motifs on argyle and Aran sweaters were scattered, and the treatment continued as far as the labels, their text and washing instructions randomly scattered.
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Quote of note: Commenting on the digitalization of fashion, Morinaga wanted to explore the notion that “we cannot see the mass and the gravity of garments through a screen,” he explained through an interpreter during a Zoom preview.
Standout pieces: The black and white polka-dot coat, its spots merging on the shoulders and its collar raised; an orange velvet dress crafted as if upside-down, the collar and sleeves hanging around the legs; a duffle coat with offset toggles.
Takeaway: Morinaga’s approach to design was as idiosyncratic as ever, but he highlighted his gift with shape and structure once more with his twists on wardrobe classics. While everything in the lineup wasn’t suitable for life on Earth, there were cool clothes that would work on the street, too.
Launch Gallery: Anrealage RTW Fall 2021
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