Hi, it's Shohei.
The concept of KUON Fall/Winter 2021 collection is derive from a quote of Albert Einstein.
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow"
Today, I would like to introduce an item that represents the concept very well. As an aside, Taku, the director of KUON likes and recommends this jacket very much.
Sashiko yet Tweed
Random Striped SASHIKO Blouson
This blouson is made with KUON's specialty, Sashiko-Ori fabric, and it is used to resemble tweed fabric. According to Taku, "To present something without it" This is actually a new idea for KUON, but it is based on Japanese traditional sense of beauty like Japanese rock garden and Tsukimi soba. (*Tsukimi means "moon-viewing". In Tsukimi soba, an egg yolk is used to resemble the moon.) This idea will break new ground in traditional technics and KUON design.
When a customer was trying it on in the store, I noticed that the thick SASHIKO threads reflect the light and it made the blouson shiny, making it look like it was covered with some kind of ornaments.
The front and the cuffs are decorated with velvet and satin ribbons that are often used in classic ornaments. If you take a close look at this decoration, you will see that the ribbons are placed randomly in order, giving it a playful feel. It's random, but the hues are combined to create an elegant look.
The smart shape and light fabric combine to make it great to wear as a stress-free inner layer for coats. Even when worn as an inner layer, the three-dimensional fabric and tape decorations peek out and give off a strong presence.
The throat tab on the back of the collar not only improves wind and cold protection, but also has the effect of making the face look neat and clean by creating volume around the neck.
Inspired by a famous jacket
I thought it would be easier to get an idea if I could attach a picture of a Chanel jacket, but it was difficult to paste it due to copyrights, so please Google "Chanel Jacket". I'm sure you'll say, "Oh, I've seen that before."
I mentioned at the beginning that the blouson have a story, and I'll explain why the Chanel jacket inspired Ishibashi.
The social progress of women and Pandemic
The time period goes back to the 1910s and 1920s.
The 1910s was the time of World War I. In Europe, women began to replace the men who had gone to war by working in all sorts of labor. Until then, women's clothes were in tight shapes, has shoulder pads, long skirts that almost touched the ground, and overly decorated, making it very inconvenient for them to work.
Thinking of these women, Coco Chanel created clothes with a relaxed silhouette and without excessive decorations, which were convenient for working while retaining femininity, and gained a lot of support from the women of the time.
Furthermore, in the late 1910s, there was an epidemic of the Spanish flu. I think the situation was very similar to the pandemic that is happening now. Today, it is common for women to enter the workforce. And we overcame the Spanish flu pandemic to get where we are today.
These backgrounds and stories have been incorporated into KUON's creations this season.
"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow"
Thank you!
