Comme des Garçons Homme Plus S/S 2020 Paris Fashion Week Men's
Team work: The show – entitled ‘Orlando’ – was the first in a three act project by the brand. First is the S/S 2020 menswear show, staged in three parts, each bathed in its own pool of coloured light, directed by staging designer Thierry Dreyfus, accompanied by live drum music selected by Vincent Glanzmann. The show concluded with an array of black, form fitting tailoring-cum-dresses; the models wore knotted frill sleeve shirts. Act two will be the womenswear show in September and the third and final stage is a forthcoming collaboration with Austrian composer Olga Neuwirth, who is premiering a production of Orlando at the Vienna State Opera in December this year.
Mood board: Identity and gaiety were bound up in Kawakubo’s S/S 2020 collection, taking inspiration from Virginia Woolf’s gender-defying novel. Much like the book, the clothes explored transformation and liberation through time. Suiting had draping and scalloped edges. Elizabethan frock coats merged into archetypal men’s suiting. Bell sleeves jutted from tailored coats. Tapestries, lace and quilting deconstructed perceptions of sex. The frivolity of historical dress burst through; pink satin exploded from the middle of tailored jackets in floral jacquard. Multiple collars were layered and froth forward.
Finishing touches: The brand’s footwear collaborations are much coveted. For the coming season, the brand has worked again with British boot company George Cox, originators of the iconic creeper, who produced a red and violet version of the suede lace-up, crepe sole Popboy style. Nike’s Air Max 95 has been re-shaped too – it is the first time a company has been permitted to change its silhouette. ‘Vain trifles as they seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than to merely keep us warm. They change our view of the world and the world's view of us,’ Woolf once wrote. How true.
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
London based writer Dal Chodha is editor-in-chief of Archivist Addendum — a publishing project that explores the gap between fashion editorial and academe. He writes for various international titles and journals on fashion, art and culture and is a contributing editor at Wallpaper*. Chodha has been working in academic institutions for more than a decade and is Stage 1 Leader of the BA Fashion Communication and Promotion course at Central Saint Martins. In 2020 he published his first book SHOW NOTES, an original hybrid of journalism, poetry and provocation.
-
Audi launches AUDI, a China-only sub-brand, with a handsome new EV concept
The AUDI E previews a new range of China-specific electric vehicles from the German carmaker’s new local sub-brand
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Inside Izza Marrakech: A new riad where art and bohemian luxury meet
Honouring the late Bill Willis’ hedonistic style, Izza Marrakech fuses traditional Moroccan craftsmanship with the best of contemporary art
By Ty Gaskins Published
-
Clocking on: the bedside analogue timepieces that won’t alarm your aesthetic
We track down the only tick-tocks that matter, nine traditional alarm clocks that tell the time with minimum fuss and maximum visual impact
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Palace unites with Rapha to celebrate inaugural Tour de France Femmes
Marking the first time women will compete in the historic cycling race since the late 1980s, this new collaboration sees Palace Skateboards and Rapha create uniforms for both on and off the bike – including an ‘outlandish’ pair of Crocs
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022: Chanel to Miu Miu
In this extended report, Wallpaper* updates you live from Paris Fashion Week A/W 2022 shows, with rolling coverage as runway events unfold
By Jack Moss Last updated
-
Scene-stealing runway sets from S/S 2022 womenswear shows
From giant roulette wheels to Olympic diving boards and multi-city synchronized extravaganzas – our pick of the best fashion show sets from S/S 2022 womenswear
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Louis Vuitton A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Chanel A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women’s
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Y/Project A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Sacai A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women's
By Laura Hawkins Last updated
-
Alexander McQueen A/W 2020 Paris Fashion Week Women’s
By Laura Hawkins Last updated