Junya Watanabe's Year of the Gentleman, Part One

   Anyone who's discussed clothing with me for more than 5 minutes of their time knows that at this particular moment in my life, Junya Watanabe Comme des Garçons Man is indisputably my favourite line of men's clothing. Let me extrapolate on that

   Around the time I first immersed myself in the online rabbit hole of style websites and the warrens of discussion forums, his name would often come attached with enough superlatives to make most other designers insecure for life. His interview with style writer Charlie Porter was the only reason I have purchased an issue of i-D magazine since my student days. His womenswear is justly more acclaimed, but nevertheless, he expertly produces four collections a year across both gender markets that intersect his visions of practicality for one and fantasy for the other with shared themes, prints and even cuts. And his influence on me is such that I've practically graduated to wearing a garment designed by him once a week

   But the ease in which I can integrate his designs into my aesthetic is one of many reasons that inspire my affection for his work. And I don't think that was any more apparent than when he debuted his Spring/Summer 2008 line, as well as its successor for Autumn/Winter. So, in the name of backwards logic, I'll start with the latter

   An admission - I don't own any pieces from the recently departed A/W08 line (yet). It was an engagingly dandified take on American Trad and varsity looks that perfectly exuded the credo of "a new feeling for basics" that concludes the manifesto on the transparent blue flexi card attached to each new piece (the card is a rather Japanese sentiment, much like their giving of gifts and instinct for amazing record packaging)

   Despite the notoriety of Thom Browne's alterations to the silhouette of tailored suits, the pervasively shorter image was an exploration undertaken by Watanabe as far back as 2003 when his A/W04 collection showed in Paris, which not only showed shrunken suiting, but also darted and cut away fabic at the points where the body's movement would take place within the suit (or joints and 'pits to the rest of us). And if there's one thing that Watanabe gets very right where Browne can falter, it's in making this shorter look seem appropriate and wearable, much more linked to the well-cut "bum freezer" jackets of the 60s and 70s than the slightly off-kilter boxiness or blood flow-constricting tightness of Browne's work (although I'm also aware that Browne's customers may choose not to emulate his infamous look)


   But this background knowledge makes for a good starting point to delve into the collection, as do the Browne comparisons. Usually, a Junya collection has a title, and although I didn't find an official one anywhere, Dover Street Market referred to it as "Junya Watanabe's Way of Dressing Up," which works for me. The overall look is smartened up, but there's a hint of mischief in jackets that include trim running along the hem and quarters, including a paisley pattern that debuted in the previous season

   The runway ensembles showed a look that was utterly gentlemanly and easily emulated if the proportions are correct - the rolled-up cuffs on the trouser bottoms easily balanced out the particularly short lengths of the jackets and allowed for an utterly daring, but fun, display of one's socks. This was where the show excelled, by bringing the Edwardian holidaygoer look into an archetype that took hold around 40 years later on an entirely different continent. Perhaps it was the use of such trad staples and silhouttes but for some reason, the rolled up look felt rather unique to this particular archetype and did not feel beholden to the aforementioned Edwardian look, nor to the greasers that also appeared during the 1950s. And whilst it's more of a nod to Watanabe's well-documented fondness for punk, the inclusion of porkpie and trilby hats and the shortened trousers added an element of idiosyncratic refinement into a look that usually utilised bold madras and checks to inject a playful element into its ensembles. In actual fact, the use of such patterns in Watanabe's colection was rather subdued, opting for duller compositions on cardigans as overall patterns or patch pockets, and also cut into panels and attached to the backs of shoulders and arms on recut Brooks Brothers shirts to inject a subtly whimsical element into them

   This whimsy continued with the backs of various jackets, trousers and even suits presenting a different aesthetic at the back - racing stripes, nylon tracksuiting, striped knitting and wool checks all appear as each garment is turned around. A sportier, collegiate image was represented by nylon and wool varsity jackets rejigged as sportscoats with leather sleeves that could still appeal to, and stand out with, a smarter look


   Whilst a lot of it appeals to my sense of fun, I believe that part of the reason I didn't gravitate to this collection as closely as I have to some of the others was due to the persistent sensation of the collection being gimmicky. Many of the pieces felt overly designed due to their double-sided construction, which made it difficult to find one's sense of self in wearing them. (Un)usually, Watanabe would get around this by using a more subtle form of hybridisation, merging two disparate pieces such as a military jacket and a blazer into one by adding the details of the former to the shape of the shape of the latter, or presenting a biker jacket in bright, boiled wool instead of leather. This season was less exploratory in that respect, opting to display sartorial quirks and fabric choices rather than the subtle insights of the designer that has allowed him to put fresh-yet-mostly-restrained spins on traditional pieces in a way that is unmatched by any other

   It's not a good feeling to realise that a Watanabe item could effectively be bought elsewhere from other brands - repp ties are available from various outlets, even moreso if you attended public/prep/private school or a top tier college - and while it easily stood apart from the inevitable Browne comparisons due to the injection of its own ideas, the collection did not quite create "a new feeling" for tradition - if anything, it felt greatly beholden to the past


   Nevertheless, there were some great ideas to be found when Watanabe's instinct for cross-pollination took hold. Workwear met suiting with hammer loops and nail pockets on smart trousers, the leather sleeves of the aforementioned varsity sportsjackets appeared on Gloverall duffel coats that were actually from the boy's collection, and trousers were constructed in a jean factory and triple-stitched accordingly. But these sorts of ideas were elementary for a Watanabe collection, and what I consider to be his best work will certainly be analysed in future entries

Images: men.style.com