Hop, Step, Check. This morning’s Issey Miyake show came with a title and a tagline: 'Clothes that give you wings the moment you wear them!' Yes, I think I’ve seen that happy TV ad somewhere too… Actually, this collection was filled with such positivity and energy that it was hard to resist. And so was the live music whether your ears liked it or not – high up in a cubicle overlooking the runway stood the Open Reel Ensemble, four guys from Japan who performed using old school film reels. Hop, Step, Check The Remix.
The sound of bagpipes made one thing clear: we are in Scotland and the sporty checks that came out (on smiling models – the shock!) were proof. Yoshiyuki Miyamae used stripes to remix checks – from simple back and white on a single-breasted coat and wide trousers (racing black stripes running down the side) to super bright pink, blue and red-based larger patterns and a reinterpreted red tartan on a wide sweatshirt and blanket-like skirt. Miyamae said in the show notes that he was inspired by the mosaic landscapes we see from a plane: the meadows, forests and lakes down below. It worked but the quieter pieces like the classic coats in green, red and mustard with leather panels at the back of their collars were also well done and the two-tone trousers or the slashed ones that revealed a check print underneath were – dare I say it – fun! And did I mention those guys were making music from film reels?!
