Elevating and elevating everyday clothing is becoming a recurring theme for designers this season. Jun Takahashi did it his Undercover way, pairing tinsel, organza, chiffon and other festive fabrics with boring brown cardigans, faded jeans and a sweatshirt with a yoga center logo.
Models walk slowly through a nondescript, tableless school cafeteria as German filmmaker Wim Wenders chronicles a day in the life of a single mother. Presumably, the billowing panels of additional fabric were intended to brighten her work routine, lunch alone at the local Greek, shopping, family time, and leisure reading.
As the show progressed, additional fabric was accumulated until it reached almost majestic proportions, a long train of gold lamé between protuberances attached to the gray sweatshirt worn by veteran model Rose Van Bosstraeten, who could be the protagonist of the history of the soundtrack by Wenders.
Backstage, Takahashi said he was inspired by Wenders' latest film, “Perfect Days,” about a toilet cleaner in Japan who finds beauty and poetry in his everyday life.
The concept led to some attractive pieces, such as a cardigan with pieces of silk nightgown or a leather jacket paired with plaid scarves.
But then it became tedious and occasionally forced. Aside from a few spiked bags, gone are the punk, subversive and rebellious elements that Undercover is known for.
Come to think of it, wild combinations of various fabrics are sure to annoy some dry cleaners.
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