Excerpt: JUNYA WATANABE SPRING 2023 - PARIS FASHION WEEK.

"There is such an enticing sweet spot for many designers and ones who seek a connection to the past that were the years between 1978 and 1985, as both the 70's and mid 80's gave the possibility of a society still focused on its counter culture at least the liberating aspects of restrained expressions of sexuality.   Which unfortunately petered out into the 1990's and vanished only to become a simulacrum of social media feeds of the 21st Century.  The creative drive, to which the early 80's offered  for designers, at least in fashion, was that inspiration drawn from the punk ethos which developed as a do-it-yourself backlash against conservative styles.  That ironically, through a mix and match and stylized messy look, actually was inspired by the modernism looks of the 1950's.  Updating the aesthetics into a fusion of recut and oversized blazers, ties and tapered trousers. That in turn, was as a backlash against hippie esque styles that had spilled over into the 70's.  

The reserved and enigmatic Japanese fashion designer Junya Watanabe has been a stalwart adherent to the 80's fashion imprint, redefining his study of that era of originality..." 

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Full review: https://chiasmusmagazine.blogspot.com/2022/11/junya-watanabe-spring-2023-paris.html

(A.Glass 2022)