Kunihiko Morinaga continued to subvert wardrobe staples in clever, unusual ways, building on the theme of his fall collection and calling into question the Instagram era of looking at fashion through a smartphone screen. For spring, he played on dimensions, creating designs — viewed in threesomes — that looked to be seen from different angles: above, below and from the side.
A preppy blazer had exaggerated shoulders and cinched waistline as one iteration; was twisted to the side as an asymmetric version, and cropped and boxy in its third manifestation. Chino pants, dark jeans, tailored shirts, cricket sweaters, shirtdresses, white logo T-shirts and a houndstooth coat got the same treatment, set off-center, or with dropped shoulders, wide necklines and flared hems. All were designed to look “normal” when seen through a screen; only in real life would their intricacies be visible. Even the buttons and belt buckles, as well as tote bags, took on such a skewed slant.
Despite his conceptual stance and use of inventive visual effects, Morinaga — a finalist for this year’s LVMH Prize — offered up plenty of readily wearable pieces, proving that originality and commercial appeal can be made to walk hand in hand.