For a load of garbage, this was some collection. Did Junya Watanabe dive into a recycling bin? Or pick his way across a landfill site? Whatever he did for inspiration, the result was a glorious mosaic of a collection, and a window on the spinning wheels, cranks and pulleys of the designer’s imagination.
It was called “The Art of Assemblage Couture” and Watanabe described it as “form born from pure creative instinct, free from conventional notions of dressmaking. Through the direct presentation of raw materials, this approach expresses the surrounding social environment.”
He constructed gowns made from scraps of fur, picture frames and shiny handbags; transformed leather gloves into elbow patches and stiletto boots into the sleeves and back of a cape-like jacket.
Hard, curved plastic from motorcycle helmets gave structure and bounce to corset tops and peplums while thick black buckles and bits of broken-up motoring gear added extra interest to gowns made from sack cloth, gold foil or what looked like pleated garbage bags.
Patterned curtains, which looked as if they’d just been torn from the window frame, became the long train on a dress with a ceremonial sash, and a bodice made from broken-up license plates and a glittery picture of Marilyn Monroe.
He strung stuffed animals together to create a furry stole for a long black dress with a criss-cross back, and added silvery evening bags to a white, feathery tutu. Off to the ballet we go!
Watanabe’s innovative use of refuse gave his looks a certain grandeur that was amplified by top talent. Irina Shayk opened the show, while the couture model Maggie Maurer closed it.
In between, models in kiss curls and dark eye makeup took their time strolling down the runway, or striking dramatic poses like silent film actresses. The soundtrack matched the mood with old-fashioned schmaltzy music composed by Hakushi Hasegawa and Tokutaro Hosoi for the accordion, violin and piano.
It was a comment on the importance of a waste-not, want-not attitude, of circularity in fashion and of the sheer volume of stuff that gets used and tossed. But it was also a message of hope and the possibility of conjuring beauty from castoffs.