Christian Dada designer Masanori Morikawa had the troubled state of youth in mind for his fall collection. “The focus is on something like conflict, frustration,” he said after the show.
Drug references peppered certain pieces, sometimes in overt, ironic ways — take the red sweater with “Heroin” emblazoned in a font echoing that of Coca-Cola’s logo — as well as more subtly — like with the silver foil puffer scarf. Morikawa’s line also played on distortions, of silhouettes and through the mash-up of urban wear and sartorial separates for men and for women.
Showing a deft hand, Morikawa took traditional western wear, such as a blazer, leather jacket, puffer vest and shearling coat, and deconstructed it to be worn like a kimono, with interesting effect when paired with more traditional trousers.
The layering of streetwear and sartorial pieces worked well, such as in the look involving a long jacket and trousers in pinstripe (nodding both to classic suiting and today’s skater gear) worn with message-bearing T-shirts. The mix was not only on trend but heightened with Morikawa’s Asian aesthetic infusion.