Mon, March 9 2020 » Fashion Blog
SACAI FALL WINTER 2020 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK
The Sacai 2020 Autumn & Winter collection brings Chitose Abe’s exploration of silhouettes beyond their visual 3 dimensional forms. Playing with the idea of movement, silhouettes are seemingly one shape when standing still and change when in motion, the imperceptible contrasting weights in fabric create a surprising effect.⠀
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A men’s pantsuit when stationary becomes a flowing dress as the wearer starts to walk. A familiar vocabulary of masculine clothing archetype + elegant couture-like femininity this time translates into a tweed Chesterfield coat melded with a satin ‘lady dress’ complete with playful, ironic jewellery details or with panels of the dress re-appropriated to add volume to a jacket.
The straps traditionally found as functional details on a duffle coat are re-contextualised as a strap to gather the pant cuff of a pantsuit dress hybrid, to alter the anticipated silhouette when in motion. Nordic sweater patterns are re-imagined as devore velvet thereby responding differently and making an unanticipated shape when moving.
A simple ribbed knit dress transforms into a heavier weight pant and chiffon combination on turning. The zip used to alter silhouette. Riffing on the notion of exploration beyond the third dimension with a series of NASA’s cosmic images appearing as prints.
Prints and textiles from the archive of American design icon Alexander Girard re-coloured and re-imagined for the house of sacai.
Mon, March 9 2020 » Fashion Blog
SACAI SPRING SUMMER 2020 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK
One Nation Under a Groove.
The words of George Clinton and Funkadelic deliver a message of harmony and unity, translated by designer Chitose Abe to her Spring ‘20 collection; a response to the disharmony in our world today and here unifying different wardrobe elements to make one harmonious, hybrid piece, while continuing her career-long quest to re-imagine what’s possible with silhouette.
Chiffon lavalliere blouse / pants / trench all incorporated into one dress. Coat / skirt / dress shirt, all joined as one, with a new, elegant harmony.
The map of the world and a motif inspired by cartography extends the theme – as embroidery on trenches, prints on dresses and playful, 3D fringe on knits and lady-like tweed, in forms reminiscent of the seven continents, with a spectrum of colour, from bright through to monochrome.
Rope belts and fastenings pull looks together, while making a new silhouette, the cord inspired by climbing rope, playing with the notion – held deeply and with hope and optimism – that humanity ultimately rises to a higher place.
Mon, October 7 2019 » Fashion Blog
SACAI SPRING SUMMER 2020 MENSWEAR + PRE SPRING WOMEN’S COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK
“That rug really tied the room together”
Designer Chitose Abe riffs on her signature hybridisation, taking Dude from The Big Lebowski’s observation as her starting point to join two familiar forms together in a new way.
Tuxedo pieces make for a more elegant and sartorial perspective, playing with scale and de-constructing sacai-style. Two tuxedo shirts of opposing scales are ’tied together’ with a stitched on bow tie, left hanging open. Half belts ’tie together’ two coats or tailored jackets to make one new piece. An over-sized denim jacket is attached to a shrunken version of the same; a child’s size MA1 jacket is joined to an over-sized adult scaled version of the same.
Familiar forms are cut with a two-dimensional approach, void of the contouring and fabric wastage associated with traditional pattern cutting, creating a new draped silhouette when worn on the body; a new exaggerated, slouchy ease that’s reinforced by joining together clothing items to make one piece. A tuxedo shirt and pants re-imagined as a dress; pants and a shirt become one.
Taking inspiration from the utilitarian style of fishermen from a bygone era, whole hybridised looks are made from a single fabric, this time playing with the forms to create the juxtaposition. A t-shirt silhouette made of suiting fabric, with the fabrication’s original intent suggested by tailored jacket detailing at the hem, re-positioned pockets and suit lining sleeves.
Celebrating the archival prints of Hawaiian shirt legend Duke Kahanamoku with SUN SURF..
“One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” – T-shirts made from newly developed Brewed Protein Blended sustainable fabric by Spiber, featuring graphics by Fabien Baron.
Sacai x Gramicci mountaineering pants, designed for maximum range of motion when climbing.
Previewing the next instalment of Nike x sacai sneakers.
Mon, June 24 2019 » Fashion Blog
SACAI FALL WINTER 2019 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK
Silhouette. Abstraction. Resolution through hybridization. Chitose Abe takes familiar utilitarian clothing forms, super-scaling them to the point of abstraction, then re-scaling them to fit the body by adding elements from other forms to make a new hybrid re-mix.
A giant sized trench coat constrained through the addition of a down jacket piece that makes a new, elegant, feminine shape, with couture-like volume and sensuality.
A conventionally sized sweater used as the outer layer, re-shapes an over-sized men’s coat, with an inverted play on a more familiar approach to layering.
An over-sized men’s denim jacket is resolved and re-sized with pleating to make a new womanly hourglass shape that accentuates the waist. with the surplus fabric of the arms re-appropriated into dramatic cuffs.
Celebrating the master of the abstract, Jackson Pollock, sacai-style, with prints inspired not by his canvases but by the paint left behind on his studio floor.
Thu, March 7 2019 » Fashion Blog
SACAI FALL WINTER 2019 MENSWEAR + WOMEN’S PRE-FALL COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK
Men’s 2019 Autumn & Winter / Women’s 2019 Pre Autumn collection
Applying the notion of a cultural melting pot to sacai’s signature hybrid splicing, mixing references freely and with ease. Celebrating togetherness and “freedom of being” that’s symbolised by experiences in London’s legendary Bar Italia – the setting for exchanges and social cross-pollinations, with no boundaries self-imposed by a need for tribal belonging – and applying that mindset to familiar clothing archetypes.
A sharper take on menswear. Inverting the importance of “dressing to belong” sacai-style, juxtaposing references in celebration of the idea that we should have the freedom to be different, to be an individual. The familiar formality of a trench coat, subverted with leopard print; classic flannel pants hybridised with performance leggings; a single breasted suit tailored from sports performance fabric.
Playing with silhouette through construction and disrupting the layers associated with traditional outfit building. Inverting coats so that the liner becomes a pumped up outer layer; a sweater traditionally worn under a jacket instead becomes its outer shell; a college scarf integrated into a primitive jacket becomes the detail that entirely changes the silhouette. A feminine blouse is left undone, save for its scarf which serves to make a new shape and proportion. Mixing the utility of sports fabrics with the femininity of tulle and lace. Houndstooth spliced with herringbone; ladylike tweed with biker.
Sacai eyewear by NATIVE SONS adds a new dimension to a familiar form.
Custom beaded-designed Beats X wireless earphones by audio brand Beats by Dr. Dre.
Nike x Sacai LDV/Daybreak, Blazer/Dunk – two hybrid styles in a new monochrome palette.
Bar Italia x Sacai tees and hoodies.
Fri, February 1 2019 » Fashion Blog
SACAI SPRING SUMMER 2019 COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK
A freeform approach that challenges traditional definitions of what’s complete and finished. Un-zipping structured, familiar silhouettes into a freeform sensibility.
Designer Chitose Abe’s signature riff on hybrid starts by drawing on the decreasing relevance of the boundaries of season, by continuing a narrative that takes fabrics and patterns associated with one season and transposing them to another.
This time, Pendleton’s South West American blankets are re-contextualised into Spring fabrics, melded with sportswear and military forms and detailing or wrapped in a spontaneous way into a chiffon, pleated dress, the blanket’s leather holster serving as a strap detail; or applied to hybrid sweater cross-pollinations, socks and shoes.
Questioning when an idea is perceived to be complete and when it’s time to stop. Edges left raw and hanging loose, creating a new proportion by doing so. Dip dye treatments that stop short of the full garment; unexpected placements of polka dot silk scarves inserted into blouses that then unravel into dresses and jumpsuits.
Tweed jackets spliced and hanging open to expose a Type II denim jacket. Denim de-constructed and re-constructed with menswear checks and MA1 military influences. Traditional garment constructions unzip into free-flowing poncho forms. Dr Woo’s tattoo art, applied as embroideries to sweaters, denim, outerwear pieces and bags.
Featuring sacai x Nike hybrid sneakers – LDV/Daybreak, Blazer/Dunk debuting January 2019.
Mon, July 23 2018 » Fashion Blog
SACAI FALL WINTER 2018 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK
A continued exploration of the notion of hybrid – the design language at the heart of Chitose Abe’s vision for sacai since the beginning – creating pragmatic solutions for modern life by cutting and splicing familiar forms to create something new.
Constructionism. Treating the pieces that make up clothing archetypes as though they were building blocks; instinctually constructing with them, interlocking with a playful spontaneity and new simplicity. Assembling and de-assembling, dressing with an ease that comes of wearing clothes with an ‘undone’ attitude, all tied together with a skate-inspired shoelace belt.
School blazer stripes interlock with a down jacket, men’s tailoring sleeves, a quilted liner and elements of a military flight jacket. A tennis sweater, that started life as part of a school uniform, is overlaid with the ruffles and pleats of a chiffon blouse. A denim jacket goes ‘inside out’, its blanket lining re-interpreted and re-mixed as an outer layer of fun fur stripes.
An aran sweater surprises with couture-like volume at the back. Hand-knit sweater pieces are interlinked with chiffon, their patterns re-appropriated and re-contextualised to become a mirror image of one another. A denim jacket meets a men’s tuxedo; dress shirts multiply layer upon layer. Opera gloves and mismatched shoes make for a ’total look’.
A hybrid take on a record bag comes courtesy of a collaboration with Shibuya’s legendary vinyl store, Manhattan Records.
Custom jewellery by Charlotte Chesnais for sacai.
Thu, March 8 2018 » Fashion Blog
SACAI FALL WINTER 2015-16 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK
The simplicity of traditional, authentic masculine clothing archetypes, spliced with an exaggerated couture-like silhouette by sacai’s Chitose Abe.
An unexpected distorted proportion, that challenges preconceptions with drop shoulders, drop waist details and elongated sleeves. A new modern context for classical couture techniques and shapes.
Something precious and rarefied, applied to the familiar and everyday. An M65 parka, injected with an elegant, super-oversized, slouchy volume.
The Baja stripes of a ‘Mexican parka’ pullover, re-imagined with luxe multi-coloured fur strips. A classic car coat, with exposed couture quilting stitch.
Fortuny pleating, bound together with “bondage” straps made with braided trimmings.. Herringbone tweed elasticised for the ultimate modern hourglass.
Sweaters re-structured with a tulle lining to create additional dimentionality.. A focus on the neck, shoulders, waist and hips. Military waffle knit sweaters shaped and moulded into a classical silhouette.
Tulle underpinning at the hips of sweater jackets, culottes and peplum skirts derived, spliced and reinterpreted to make for a seductive, forward-looking ideal of femininity and modern elegance.
Boots reference the ease of a American men’s moccasin loafer, with a pumped up crepe sole and leather stocking leg.
Sat, June 20 2015 » Fashion Blog
SACAI SPRING SUMMER 2015 WOMEN’S COLLECTION – PARIS FASHION WEEK
For Spring 2015 Sacaiʼs Chitose Abe riffs on a theme of uniform, inverting and subverting the familiar. Working with authentic silhouettes, cutting and splicing them into unexpected juxtapositions, with technical fabric innovations that allude to a couture-like world, staying true to the handwriting thatʼs been at the heart of Sacai since the beginning.
A military jacket is ʻinsertedʼ into the soft femininity of a tulle blouse, playing with the construction to create a new structured silhouette. A utilitarian khaki skirt bursts into a fan of chiffon pleats. The stripe insignia on a sleeve is reinvented in grosgrain ribbon. Navy chiffon inserts reveal lingerie detail underpinnings. A flight jacket is reinterpreted with a uniform button detailing.
Structured guipure lace is inserted into uniform silhouettes to form new three dimensional shapes, bringing a modern elegance to the idea of surplus. A classic blackwatch check is overlaid with stitching to create a new iteration of lace. Cotton drill is laser cut and over printed for a futuristic take on broderie anglaise.
Lacing inspired by utility dressing weaves itʼs way throughout, most prominent on pumped up open front surplus boots. Ambush x Sacai jewellery combines the high shine gold against coloured enamel.
Sat, October 11 2014 » Fashion Blog
