Ever the rebel, Jun Takahashi chose “We Make Noise Not Clothes” as one of his seasonal slogans. Still, it’s clothes and not noise that keeps the lights on, and so his pre-fall collections provide a decidedly quieter vector for the brand’s nonconformist streak, distilling the spirit of his runways into something easier to buy into.
According to the notes from the Tokyo studio, this outing was focused on “contemporary interpretations of classical basic items”; and so it appeared, with a roster of T-shirts, sweaters, button-up shirts, bomber jackets, and tailoring with subtle twists that were uniformly easy on the eyes. The collection was rendered almost entirely in black—all the better for the variegated anatomical hearts embroidered onto the elbows of some jackets to stand out.
Zips were a focal point of the collection, as seen on square pockets that gave a utilitarian, gorpcore twist to the T-shirts, cardigans, and slim tailored trousers, but they were employed most effectively on fuzzy Cobain-y knits, where they snaked subtly in veinlike curves across the torso. Steel-capped derbies by Kids Love Gaite accompanied each look.
The details and hardware hit all the usual punkish notes, but the preponderance of black and the clean, slim cuts lent the collection a pleasingly gothic flavor. Interestingly, the notes said that “silhouettes are designed to be more compact than in recent seasons”—a refresh from the oversized shapes that have dominated menswear recently. The absence of hard outerwear was intentional too, “in response to recent trends towards milder winters.”
Overall it was a collection full of accessible pieces that approached the portal of chaotic fantasy for which Takahashi is known, all the while providing a safe vantage point from which to peek inside.
