” A ghost is hiding in the wardrobe. Without anyone noticing, he sneaks in and takes possession of the spirit of the clothes, with whom he becomes one… ” . The program announced the color“Ghost in the Clothes“, and I couldn’t help but think of “Ghost in the Shell”, where the word “Ghost” ultimately refers more to the human soul than to a spirit.
For Spring/Summer 2011, designer Issey Miyake invites us to discover the ghost hiding in our wardrobe, taking us to another reality, to an invisible world that cannot be approached. The voice of the master Hitchcock rings out:“And everyone knows the best way to read ghost stories . . . is in the dark“, then darkness invades the Palais de Tokyo. And it’s from a thick fog that the first silhouettes appear, like ghostly apparitions.
A first grey pleated dress invites us to open our eyes and see the ghost looking at us, searching for a new garment to bewitch. Airy fabrics, white ensembles adorned with silver discs, origami-like craftsmanship on an immaculate white wardrobe immediately take us into the imagination of Dai Fujiwara, Issey Miyake’s creative director.
Hypnotic silhouettes imbued with Japanese details, jackets become kimono jackets from front to back, skirts are puffy and pants are luxurious sarouels. Sporty outfits rub shoulders with more sophisticated silhouettes, with one constant: the perpetual impression that air literally flows through every garment.
White silhouettes are soon embellished with crumpled black leather jackets or vests. Then, for a time, color finally appears in bright red, yellow and turquoise, with silhouettes wearing the ultra-thin fabrics that Dai Fujiwara likes to layer. Two-tone silhouettes return to make way for a series of dresses and tunics in straw-colored beige, highlighting a wood-like, distorted-patterned raffia, a formidable textural effect.
Simple silk dresses or strapless gowns, shorts, skirts and loose-fitting pants follow one another for the perfect summer wardrobe. Once again, color takes possession of these ghosts through prints before returning in variations of white, black and gray, a true exercise in style as the sense of detail and texture is pushed to the extreme.
And what would an Issey Miyaké fashion show be without its famous pleats, the secret of which Dai Fujiwara jealously guards? Some models with horizontal pleats seem to be driven by a movement of their own as the models walk.
Dai Fujiwara has a real gift for taking us into his world and proving that ghosts can dress up our clothes. His aim: to bring them to life.
Photo credit: Frédérique Dumoulin
Marie-Odile Radom
Cette publication est également disponible en : Français (French)
