Undercover S/S 07 Paris

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Jun Takahashi just fired off every fashion reference in the book for his excellent A/W show. To a knowing Nouvelle Vague soundtrack of cover versions, the inspired Japanese designer referenced everyone from YSL (past and present), Chanel, Lanvin, Madame Gres, Margiela and doubtless others. Only for a designer as dark and maverick as Takahashi could this chic, sexy, polished and Bourgeois collection constitute a sincere and subversive statement.






(nytimes)

Paris Isn’t New York or Milan: Vive la Différence

By CATHY HORYN


Published: October 3, 2006
PARIS, Oct. 2 — Since the spring collections began, nearly a month ago, designers have been making reference to the clothes that Olivier Theyskens did for Rochas — the couture sacks, flounced jackets and other Parisian gestures. Some of these references feel halfhearted, a case of playing catch-up now that Mr. Theyskens has moved to another old house, Nina Ricci. But feeble or not, they represent an uncritical acceptance of his methods.



On Monday, though, at the start of the French collections, someone finally called the fashion world’s bluff. Jun Takahashi, the nimble mind behind the Japanese label Undercover, sent out a spoof of the practice of reviving old couture looks, as well as old houses. And Rochas wasn’t the only refurbished brand in Mr. Takahashi’s sights. There were also Lanvin, Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent.


The clothes were so beautifully done that it took a moment to grasp that Mr. Takahashi was commenting on the ability of editors to look at nonsensical shapes and fall in a faint over them. Perhaps it was a sheer black dress with a hem swinging like your grandmother’s lampshade that set off the grins. But from then on you couldn’t look at a flounced jacket or a dress hem strung with gold chains (a nod to Chanel’s chain-weighted jackets) without feeling slightly ashamed that you had participated in this folly of reviving old bones.


Mr. Takahashi displayed magisterial wit as the models stepped onto pedestals and paused. There were sheer silk tunics with matching underpants and black over-the-knee stockings, and loose smock dresses with ruffles and pearls (shades of Lanvin). Nearly all the clothes were sophisticated and wearable, which saved the collection from being a rant.


But the finale was a definite touché: dresses and jackets made from fluttery cutouts of bones, and a purple satin cape made from a virtual boneyard of tiny three-dimensional skulls with evil rhinestone eyes.

Jil Sander for Uniqlo

TOKYO - Jil Sander is making her long-awaited comeback - but in a fast-fashion way.

The German designer is on the brink of signing a "design consulting agreement" to oversee the men's and women's apparel at Japanese retail giant Uniqlo, according to a well-placed source. Sander and executives from Uniqlo's parent company Fast Retailing Co. Ltd., have called a press conference here Tuesday to outline the terms of the deal.

Although Sander will not receive an official title at the company, the designer will take over the creative reins for all the retailer’s products excluding accessories and children’s wear, the source said. It is understood the Japanese brand and Sander are also working to develop a special Uniqlo collection, bearing the designer’s minimalist look, set to bow for the fall season.

As reported in WWD last week, Sander was spotted at the Première Vision textile trade show in Paris in February, which reignited ongoing speculation she planned to return to the fashion world. Sander famously left her namesake label for the second time in 2004 after clashing with the brand’s former owner, Prada Group, and its chief executive officer, Patrizio Bertelli, over creative and control issues.

While Uniqlo has collaborated with a number of designers such as Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang and Alice Roi through its Designers Invitation Project, this is the first time the company has established a continuous relationship with a marquee name. The company’s design team has lived a relatively anonymous existence churning out colorful basics. Like Sander, Uniqlo has always put a strong emphasis on fabric innovation in its products, such as machine-washable sweaters that keep their shape and hooded sweatshirts that retain heat.

Uniqlo is one of the few retailers succeeding in recessionary Japan. The brand’s affordable line up of fashion basics has propelled months of same-store sales growth and earned chairman Tadashi Yanai the honor of Japan’s richest man, according to Forbes magazine, with a fortune estimated at $6.1 billion.

Uniqlo said earlier this month that February’s same-store sales were up 4.2 percent, advancing for the fourth consecutive month. However, the February figures represented a slowdown from the double-digit sales growth the retailer saw at the end of 2008. The retailer has been experimenting with formats in recent months, recently opening its first concept store targeting young female shoppers in their late teens and early 20s. It also has opened a concept store in Selfridges in London.

While at a fast-fashion price point, Uniqlo’s aesthetic mirrors Sander’s signature minimalism. Talk of when the designer would return to fashion began almost the moment she left Prada five years ago — with the rumor mill speculating she was consulting to Gap in Europe, looking to introduce a home furnishings collection, or simply leading a quiet life in her native Hamburg and working on her garden.
wwd / march 17, 2009