Junya Watanabe
PARIS, March 4, 2006
By Nicole Phelps
An electrical snafu postponed the start of Junya Watanabe's show long enough for the Sex Pistols' anthem "Anarchy in the UK" to play three times on a backstage sound system. Sitting in the dark, one editor wondered out loud if the delay were intentional—a valid question given this Japanese designer's appetite for subversion. Just then, a minuet kicked in and Watanabe's model troops stormed the runway in unison wearing army green, as if to say, "There's a war on, people. Have you forgotten?"Last season's spiky paper headgear had been transformed into ominous masks. Made from electrical tape, tufts of black hair, and spiky silver studs, they looked every bit as disturbing as the similar hoods on his countryman Jun Takahashi's runway earlier in the week. The long dresses Watanabe constructed from patchworks of concert T-shirts for spring reappeared, but this time they were pieced together from fatigues, camouflage material, and green lace. Continuing the military theme, he took a battalion's worth of army jackets and worked them up into the trenches, parkas, and tail coats trailing straps that he's know for. And for an added dose of symbolism, he crocheted red, white, and blue into his camo sweaters.
The great thing about Watanabe, though, is that you never sense he's being provocative just for the sake of it. It was a thrill to watch him refine his timely ideas, and make exciting and, yes, wearable clothes in the process. Especially when many others, as they return to and rework the highlights of mid-century design, are resisting just that: timeliness.
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Fall 2006 Ready-to-Wear
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3.1 Phillip Lim 6267 -
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A.F. Vandevorst ADAM Akris Alberta Ferretti Alessandro Dell'Acqua Alexander McQueen Alexandre Herchcovitch Alice Roi Andrew Gn Anna Sui Ann Demeulemeester Antonio Berardi Aquascutum Araks -
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Badgley Mischka Balenciaga Basso & Brooke BCBG Max Azria Behnaz Sarafpour Bill Blass Blumarine Bottega Veneta Boudicca Brian Reyes Brioni Burberry Prorsum -
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D&G Daryl K Derek Lam Diane von Furstenberg DKNY Dolce & Gabbana Donna Karan Doo.Ri Dries Van Noten Dsquared² -
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Elie Saab Emanuel Ungaro Emilio Pucci Emma Cook Emporio Armani Erdem Etro -
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Fendi -
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Gareth Pugh Giambattista Valli Giles Giorgio Armani Givenchy Gucci -
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Hermès -
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J. Mendel Jasmin Shokrian Jean Paul Gaultier Jenni Kayne Jill Stuart Jil Sander John Galliano Jonathan Saunders Junya Watanabe -
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Kai Kühne Karl Lagerfeld Kenneth Cole New York Kenzo -
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Lacoste Lanvin Louis Vuitton Luca Luca Luella -
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Maison Martin Margiela Malandrino Malo Marc by Marc Jacobs Marc Jacobs Marios Schwab Marni Martin Grant Matthew Williamson MaxMara Menichetti Michael Kors Missoni Miu Miu Monique Lhuillier Moschino -
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Narciso Rodriguez Nathan Jenden Naum Neil Barrett Nicolas Andreas Taralis Nina Ricci Noir -
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Oscar de la Renta -
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Paco Rabanne Paul Smith Peter Jensen Peter Som Phi Pollini Prada Preen Proenza Schouler -
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Ralph Lauren Richard Chai Love Richard Nicoll Rick Owens Roberto Cavalli Rochas Rodarte Roksanda Ilincic Ruffian -
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Salvatore Ferragamo Sari Gueron Sinha-Stanic Sonia Rykiel Sophia Kokosalaki Stella McCartney Strenesse Sweetface -
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Tao Temperley London Thakoon Threeasfour Tory Burch Trovata TSE Tuleh -
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Undercover United Bamboo -
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Valentino Vena Cava Vera Wang Veronique Branquinho Verrier Versace Viktor & Rolf Vivienne Westwood VPL -
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Wunderkind -
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Y & Kei Y-3 Yigal Azrouël Yohji Yamamoto Yves Saint Laurent -
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Zac Posen Zero + Maria Cornejo
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