This recession is creating two movements with today’s generation. Many were told by our parents to study hard, get a degree, and we’d find a job. We believed if you do what you love, money will come.
Not that this advice is not true, they just forgot to tell you the other half. You’re going to have think on your own and fight for it. There is no handbook. College does not equal a career. As a result, many are angry feeling duped and unprepared for today’s market.
Contrastingly, the others negate the status quo thinking of their own way of doing things that meet their goals. To my delight, the Vandam Tokyo show was a demonstration of this innovation.
Refusing to believe 2012 is the end of the world, we as a society are skirting the rules and rethinking our future. The talent coming out of Vandam shows vision with each designers collection clearly defined from the one before. Without a break, the viewer could tell when the next collection began.
The complex draping characteristic of Issey Miayake and Yohji Yamamoto that put Japan on the map was still present but did not dominate the looks. Instead, YUYA KUBOHARA for example, managed to create that signature origami look through blocking on styles like a Varsity style bomber jacket and oversized sweater. The various patches of color and pattern created three dimensional depth from the two dimensional fabric. Similarly, his Magic Eye prints threw me back to my childhood and had me tempted to awkwardly stare at the model’s crotch and bosom while I waited for the image to appear.
Another favorite was SWANZI whose garments recalled the way in which American design pioneer Geoffrey Beane would lament keeping his garments in the closet. He believed they carried too much energy to be cooped up. Swanzi exhibited this sentiment with aqua, cobalt, and lime snake-like chiffon prints that, like a clitoral orgasm, literally vibrated with each step. The sea seemed to play a role in the color palette and almost seaweed and coral like nature of the lattice work, which is a theme conventionally kept to spring/summer. However, I love a winter walk on the beach and the heavy blacks and silver accents kept the collection relevant to fall.
MI-S BY MASATO MIYATA also revamped Japan’s paper art tradition by focusing on their prints instead. Neon orange was opaquely layered on top of the Japanese tree images, while others had long skittish inked stripes. While we speed forward in a technological world, this designer reminds us of the beauty of paper. He seems to want this message to be clear, keeping the prints on traditionally menswear garments, such as structured blazers, pants, and buttoned-down shirts rather than on draped and pleated clothing that would muddle the reference.
For CHERYL LEE, there was hair where there wasn’t hair before! A truly sophisticated collection, the use and placement of fur throughout the collection was unexpected and surprisingly flattering. Rows of tuffs would cover the right half of a skirt or the sleeve below the shoulder. This bizarre creature also appears to have come from the swamp…in the good way. The uneven dip dying of olive green on the earthy textured coats might have been tossed aside as a mistake with a less confident designer. Perhaps these are the beautiful mutant remains after the 2012 apocalypse armed with whatever they can fit in their belted satchels and structured jackets. In this era, the female silhouette is rethought.
All in all, the Vantan Tokyo collections each demonstrated a perspective on the modern woman. Whether in New York or Tokyo she is influenced globally and globally influences. She is inspired by the past and the future. She is familiar and alien. This is the tone of the part of the generation that embraces the recession as an opportunity to collaborate collectively and advance innovation.
Images via Getty