Irreverence is a word that gets thrown around a lot when talking about fashion brands that like to have fun. But when it comes to the Japanese label Doublet, no word fits the bill better. From bunny suits to hoverboards on the runway, you can always expect a chuckle or two at one of designer Masayuki Ino’s shows. And while I was admittedly still grinning ear to ear with every look that came down his latest runway show, this time around the designer known for his camp theatrics dared to take a darker turn.
At the core of Ino’s A/W 24 collection was the idea of healing. The show was appropriately held at the Faculty of Pharmacy in Paris, adjacent to the Jardin du Luxembourg, and the invitation was a parody advertisement for a masseuse. The show notes read, ‘’Are you alright?’ When I am asked like that, I always wonder ‘Yeah, I’m fine’. I smile as much as I can and try to be strong. But the truth is, I’m actually hurt’. An all too relatable sentiment that’ll always make me well up.
If Ino was looking for a cure to his pain, you wouldn’t immediately find it in these clothes. A literal horror show, models came out in ghastly make-up and bloodshot eyes. Some dressed as contemporary horror icons, including Nicholas Hoult in the zombie rom-com Warm Bodies and Stranger Things' otherworldly baddie, the Demogorgon (the latter transformed into a hooded bomber jacket).
Further hitting home this horror theme, clothes were made to look ravished, decayed, moth-eaten, then Frankensteined back together. Tattered and torn denim, flannels, and tailoring patched back to life. A nod to Michael Jackson’s iconic 'Thriller' costume even made an appearance as the ultimate jump-scare.
Still, maybe the most frightening part was the element of introspection at play. Among the ghouls were reminders of the banality of today via the consumptive pillars that drive our existence. I’m of course talking about the piss-take reimagining of McDonald’s Golden Arches, and The Gap’s logo now reading ‘nap’, that had me thinking about finding comfort in consumption and whether we are all just zombies on auto-pilot. Eat, sleep, repeat.
These ideas around health were expanded upon with the collaborations this season. All health-related like Calontotte, a medical device that useless magnetism to relieve stiffness. Or Curefilo, a fibre comprised of rayon kneaded with the Japanese knotweed mugwort and persimmon leaves, throughout to support the immune function in healthy people. The standout looks were the literal cocoon coats adorned with moths and their pupa, that embodied Doublet ethos; 'so obvious that it hurts'.
Still, the great paradox with Doublet is that nothing is ever as it seems. In the end, the lights turned on and a calming tune of generic new-age elevator music soundtracked the models’ final walk. Ino insisted on optimism — backstage he told the press, ‘I wanted to be positive, otherwise I can’t create. Hope is one of the things that keeps me motivated.’ But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something deeply sinister was at play. Models, with euphoric grins on their face under a bright white light still in their zombie make-up.