What lies between the walls of a house? Designer Hidenori Kumakiri took inspiration from the world of construction for his fall collection, looking toward the many mysterious layers that are assembled to create a building.
The dominant color was gray, in reference to urban landscapes, with pops of red, yellow and green on accessories such as technical gloves and oversize duffel bags, a homage to the uniforms of Japanese builders. There were also nods to actual construction material: a long white puffer jacket hinted at padding, while a wispy mohair sweater had the aspect of glass wool.
Known for his exploration of ways in which a garment can be worn — last season, Kumakiri demonstrated how one of his designs could be worn 24 different ways — the designer adapted his favored theme for the fall season. Dark coats revealed themselves to be aprons, tied at the back and only covering the front of the silhouette: A gray cotton fitted coat revealed a yellow wool sweater and emerald green silk skirt once the model turned a corner.
Sleeves on dresses were either worn as intended or thrown over the shoulders like a scarf, while a lot of the outerwear pieces were left off one shoulder, draping themselves around the side of the body. It was another quite cerebral collection from Kumakiri, who lately has seemed more interested in how a garment is made rather that what it can make you feel.