Wearable Technology: Issey Miyake's timing couldn’t be more apt. As
temperatures at Paris Men’s Fashion Week plunged below zero on
Thursday—and the City of Lights faced its
worst blizzard conditions in 20 years—the Franco-Japanese fashion house
feted a lightweight, heat-retaining wardrobe that almost seemed to
anticipate climate change’s role in worsening winters. Sure enough, the
blinding cavalcade of quilted overcoats, sporty jackets, hooded anoraks,
and utilitarian cargo pants provided more than a few nods to the
future, imagined or prophesied. Metallic accents gave way to gilded
panels, which yielded to reflective suits of gold, silver, and bronze.
(The last was said to generate as much warmth as five or six emergency
blankets, but without the bulk.) The collection married technology with
traditional Japanese craftsmanship, such as sakiori, an ancient art of
recycling clothing, and sashiko, a form of decorative stitching. Issey
Miyake also employed a picnic-blanket-inspired quilting method to create
garments that folded flat and rolled up for easy carrying. The result
was, according to the show notes, a “new type of clothing both organic
and synthetic, a sensual architecture.”The collection presented a “new type of clothing both organic and synthetic, a sensual architecture.”
Reality Lab, a research and development team formed by the label’s 74-year-old namesake, textile engineer Manabu Kikuchi, and pattern engineer Sachinko Yamamoto, developed many of the technical fabrics, including an insulating thermal fleece, sandwiched between layers of recycled polyester. Eco-PET, made from recycled water bottles, offered a water-resistant finish to several looks, while a translucent film, bonded with mesh, provided wind- and water-proofing properties. The same film, laminated onto jersey, had the effect of keeping certain coat linings and exterior embellishments lightweight yet heat-retentive.
Tens of thousands of Parisians were undoubtedly covetous.
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