Design Major: Junya Watanabe FW/09

-Now, on to the Paris shows. I've been a bit unique in my aversion to the fashion world's recent love affair with American workwear, and the even more odd obsession with Japanese takes on Americana. Why would I buy designer trousers made to look like worn-in Carhartts when I could buy Carhartts and wear them in? That being said, if I had to pick a Japanese designer with whom I'd entrust the task of capturing classic American style, it would be Junya Watanabe. I'm beginning to like the idea of a shooting-patch jacket, though I often criticize impractical fashion. The one thing is show here that I am liking a great deal (especially since seeing/buying this) is the idea of the hybrid blazer/suit jacket as outerwear.

-Photos by Marcio Madeira via men.style

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Design Major: JW x Levi's

-We saw the gingham lined jeans in Junya Watanabe's Paris show recently, now we see the commercial application. JW has teamed with Levi's to do create this model. I love when Levi's does designer collaborations because I generally only where Levi's and avoid dropping $300 on designer jeans. I hope they put these out as a 514.
-I'm guessing you can get the higher priced version from JW's own line at his new Hong Kong store. more

Podiatry: This Week in Kicks

-In trying to avoid becoming just another regurgitating streetwear blog, I've decided to limit kick coverage to a once weekly rundown of the shoes that caught my eye. Extremely notable collaborations and real (see: non-sneaker) shoe news may be exempt from this feature.
-The four shoes I picked this week are somewhat contextually linked - it goes like this:
-Junya Watanabe has been going nuts this year, and he does it again here with his collaborative boot for Vans. Notice the wingtip, a classic form reinvented in an innovative boot. Speaking of innovative use of the wingtip, we see these Clae sneakers, which meld a classic sneaker form with the even more classic wingtip, bringing a touch of maturity to the sneaker. We continue with these clean red sneaks, also from Clae's 2008 fall/winter line. And we bring it full circle by coming back Vans, and the Sk8-LX Hi. It's always good to have a place to stash something.
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Design Major: Paris Spring 09 Junya Watanabe (+more!)

-I know what you're thinking, "Didn't fashion week end like 2 weeks ago?" and "Didn't your half-assed coverage end like a week ago with V&R?" The answer?--Yes! Well kind of, but we have an excuse! My interweb has been really cool lately and like um, not working. And you know, it's not like I could expect my lazy ass co-editor to pick up the slack while my shit was down. But anyway, Junya was the last show I was going to cover, and here it is, and it's good. Also, Hypebeast has some JW news today, so it's all timely and what not.
-You know the drill (don't you?), photos and analysis of our favorite looks after the jump.


-Ditch those high socks and this is a great look. Notice that the air-tie has been in almost every single show. What I really like about this show, which I maybe should have probably touched on in the intro was the overall theme: Even though JW comes from the Comme des Garçons Japanese fashion empire, the show had a real American, western travel/work feel to it.

-Short pants like we've been seeing a lot.

-I don't really have a comment on this look accept that seersucker is and always will be a spring classic. What's really sick though is the heavy luggage, I'd love to see people rocking huge, unpractical square baggage.

-More takes on the rolled pants and confluence of modern elegance and classic blue collar.

-I really like that there are good jeans here. The runways shows don't usually have a lot of jeans, but JW knows that that's what people wear most often, even with their jackets now days. The recurring plaids keep changing in this show, really highlighting the versatility of the pattern as a either a focus or an accent.

-I've mentioned a few times how adding a synthetic piece to a look can really add to the effect of nonchalance.

-This one is cool because it's a bit of a take on 70s with the big collar, but the pant has a short break and a narrow cut to keep it modern.

-The plaid under the cuff of the jean is a great detail, I think we'll see various takes on that idea soon.

-This show has made me want to break out the vintage plaid jacket that I've never worn.

-Again the plaid lining of the jeans, great detail.

Overall, this was one of my favorite shows. It was maybe the most accessible of all the shows to a casual American dresser. A fitting end to our coverage. Word.
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