“What does wind look like?” was the opening question in Kunihiko Morinaga’s show notes. Needless to say, the Japanese designer had an answer that was creative and outlandish in equal measure.
In his second season exploring shape, he fitted his sporty designs with miniature electric fans — used in Japanese workwear to help tradespeople keep cool in environments with no air conditioning, he explained through an interpreter backstage before the show.
As the models walked into the runway space, gossamer-like sportswear pieces that had been flat and floaty filled with air, ballooning out to bounce in step, transforming his models into otherworldly, cartoon-like creatures. Some appeared bubble-shaped, others like imaginary butterflies, their voluminous wings fluttering.
The designs were made with ultra-fine nylon or with organza, specially coated for the occasion to make it windproof, a typical example of Morinaga’s passion for innovation. There were also textured versions in bonded tweed.
When printed with polka dots, rectangles or flowers or in patchworks of faded bright nylon, he proffered designs akin to the shellsuits of the ‘80s. Developed using Forearth waterless printing from Japanese supplier Kyocera to reduce their environmental footprint, they also pushed the boundaries of technology, albeit in a less visual way.
While Morinaga’s conceptual designs defy the logic of a fashion world dominated by commercial considerations — last season he dressed a series of hovering shapes, rather than humans — they are always entertaining and thought-provoking. The collection was as offbeat as ever, but its underlying message — how technology could help fashion to reduce its environmental footprint — was clear.
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