Thom Browne’s ode to Japan - a perfect piece of catwalk theatre that encompassed four ‘geishas’, a tea house and a set of intricate kimonos - couldn’t have been a more apt way to round off a S/S 16 season that was all about looking East. Clearly, designers and luxury brands hope to show their support and respect for the big spenders in Asia - those keeping fashion afloat. But it’s proved in both reportage and sales figures that fashion that apes traditional Oriental styles doesn’t go down well with those in the East. They’re looking for modernity, good design, not a costume-y ode to the dress sense of their ancestors. So, in short, Thom Browne’s collection should have been a misstep - just another unadvised caricature of a culture. But really Asia was used as a conduit through which to discuss craft - this was about technique not tourism. Really, it’s Browne that kicked off the couture shows, not Donatella Versace, who’s scheduled to kick of the haute fashion’s on Friday. His kimonos came hand-pieced, rather than embroidered, and serve as a precursor to suits - all in Browne’s signature grey - made with the same techniques. The kimonos may have been removed to reveal the tailoring, but the ethos of all the garments were the same.
Despite the popularity of the slow food movement, speed has always been central to fashion. The pace is always quick - from the number of seasons each year, to the number of collections each designer puts on, to the velocity of models as they pound down the runways. The slow fashion movement has never caught on. Well, Browne’s still making a case for it. His models moved at an almost frustratingly slow pace, hindered by their platform Geta sandals. But all the better for seeing the clothes. Those intricate, complex pieces of hand-work, detailing various motifs from Japanese culture, deserved attention, time and consideration. They were too magical to whiz or flounce past, forgotten in an instant. Indeed, much will be fade from memory this fashion week - endless bombers, bikers and tailored trousers blur into one and disappear from the mind. Like the emblems that decorated them, past on from generation to generation, Browne’s work lingers in the mind - it should and shall go down in history.
