Designer of the Week 6/15: Junya Watanabe

[Servo2000]

Junya Watanabe

Brief Biography

"Junya Watanabe was born in Japan in 1961, and studied at the Bunkafukuso Gakuin Institute in Tokyo. He apprenticed under Rei Kawakubo of Comme des Garçons, first as a pattern maker, and then enventually a designer. In 1987, he was promoted to chief designer of Tricot knitwear line and then moved on to design for the Comme Des Garçons Homme line. Starting in 1992, he has worked under his own name as part of Comme des Garçons. He started his own line under the Comme Des Garçons name called 'Junya Watanabe Comme Des Garçons' in 1993 and began showing in Paris that same year."

-Wikipedia / Fashionwindows

I consider him, as well as most others, to be an absolute genius when it comes to womenswear. It's difficult to pick a bad collection. However, his men's wear, while somewhat hit-and-miss, intrigues me in that he is able to, at least fairly often, take a fairly difficult idea or concept and carry it through execution. I'm not sure whether or not it proves that Fashion is able to represent "larger" ideas, as the 'artistry' remains essentially in the execution and not the idea. Please feel free to prove me wrong on this point.

Techno Couture

When researching Junya, you're likely to find numerous references to him as a producer of "Techno Couture," likely as a result of his infamous A/W 2000-2001 collection entitled, not surprisingly, "Techno Couture." He refers to the collection as "Science Non-Fiction."

"Techno Couture" collection, fall-winter 2000

In addition, we see his interest in "futuristic" fabrics as well as an interest in finding new and unusual ways to work and use them. This is perhaps best seen in his Women's A/W 2005-2006 collection for women, which mixed these re-applied 'classic' fabrics with extremely modern elements.

Junya Watanabe, A/W 2005-2006

However, while his fascination with using unusual and new fabrics is clear. perhaps the more obviouss reason for the description is his penchant for taking classic and even nearly 'extinct' silhouettes and ideas and turning them into modern statements, and it is here that we may begin to examine his penchant for what we can generally refer to as his interest in deconstruction.

Deconstruction

Watanabe's most recent men's collection makes an excellent example of both his interest in iconic menswear and his penchant for deconstruction.

Junya Watanabe, A/W 2007

A meditation on motorcyclists and the "biker" uniform, throughout, we see the elements of the "rebellious" outfit broken down and re-assembled in new ways, modernizing the designs and silhouettes (the "Techno Couture" element), as well as perhaps giving some light to the underlying structure of the stereotype.

When examining the collection, look for typical leather jackets re-created in unusual fabrics and colors and in new silhouettes: cut like blazers and trenchcoats.

On Deconstruction, however: (as Faust put it), "You can only go so far with taking garments apart and putting them back together - it gets stale as a driving force after a while.*"

Relegating him to the realm of "The De-Constructionists" really misses what an absolutely incredible designer he is in his own right, and this tends to be extremely apparent in his women's wear.

Women's Wear

This is where Watanabe really shines. I will post some of my favourite work of his in future, so make sure to post some of yours. A parting note:

The "Techno Couture" collection, thanks to Buckwheat from SZ

Links and Useful Information"

Still compiling this list, information is fairly sparse and collections are easy to locate. Let me know if there's anything you can suggest for this spot.

Everything Else

I'll edit this part out, but let me know what you think of the article, things you do like / don't. Too much editorializing / too little, not enough photos / too many, what have you. Experimenting with not sticky-ing this thread. Pointing out typos helpful, as well.

[LittleL]

A meditation on motorcyclists and the "biker" uniform

That's very nicely expressed.

Servo, what is your interest fashion? Study/work/general interest? It's a great thread you've got happening.

[Guest jmatsu]

i think the main gripe that alot of japanese and fans of watanabe have are his recent lack of original pieces and his massive overload of double name products. i have found it difficult to give him the love i once did ever since the rolling stones themed season.

[thelion1856]

very nice post servo, i think this new idea you have for this section of the forum will come about well.

i dont know what exactly your thinking for in the links forum, maybe links to some known online sites that carry items from the designer of the week or links to interviews with the designer or articles on the designer?

[Servo2000]

i think the main gripe that alot of japanese and fans of watanabe have are his recent lack of original pieces and his massive overload of double name products. i have found it difficult to give him the love i once did ever since the rolling stones themed season.

I'm not sure what you mean by "double name" products, are you referring to his collaborations with Levis / Barbour / Vanson, and so on? Is the existence of these responsible for a lack of original pieces in Japan? I'm not sure I understand that lack of "original pieces," as I'm not familiar with how he markets himself in Japan. He seems to present more than enough "original pieces" in shows, do they fail to come to market as a consequence of these "double name" products?

You'll have to send me links to the Rolling Stones themed season, I was always under the impression that it was Rei who was using the Rolling Stone's imagery.

very nice post servo, i think this new idea you have for this section of the forum will come about well.

i dont know what exactly your thinking for in the links forum, maybe links to some known online sites that carry items from the designer of the week or links to interviews with the designer or articles on the designer?

In essence, here's what I had for the first Designer of the Week thread:

Interviews / Articles:

Fantastic Interview, Scroll Down

JC Report Retrospective

Men.Style Fashion Notes

NY Times Profile

New York Times "Timeline"

Please PM me if you have any you would like added.

Websites / Useful Links:

Raf Simons

Raf by Raf Simons

...

So basically interviews, articles and what-have-you that I can edit into the original post.

[fade to black2]

yeah i'm pretty sure the Rolling Stones themed season is CdG H+ S/S 06 which was by Rei Kawakubo

anyway i like Junya again, as a conceptual designer mostly...not very familiar with the womenswear as I haven't paid much attention to that, although that seems to be his true forte. But as far as the menswear goes, he references a lot of vintage americana and puts his own twist on it, which is interesting...liked the Taxi Driver season a lot even though it was probably his least original in the past few years. But I'm not so much a fan of the fabrics he's used for his men's clothing, a lot of it feels very rough, which is the same problem I have with CdG H+ nowadays. Running my hands through a Yohji garment and then a Comme or Junya mens piece from the latest collections, I get a vastly different impression, and honestly it's not due to any kind of designer bias either (although the current season has some very nicely done takes on tailored pieces done with sporting and techno fabrics).

[mike lowrey]

I've liked certain aspects of his past seasons. I liked some of the military influenced stuff for example.

what goes for current stuff, it seems very underwhelming to me. I dont like the levis stuff at all, and the t-shirts I've seen are pretty horrible. for example some striped shirts with printed jersey numbers, or some vintage automotive prints, those could all very well be from American Eagle or any other mall store. the tracksuit influenced blazers and suits seem kind of played out to me as well.

[Platypus]

I think Junya is a brilliant designer and among the best in the field. The problem is that that statement only applies to womenswear. If he put even 1/2 of the effort he puts into his womens collections into his mens, we would have something amazing. As it stands, the theme of recutting a garment (seen in almost every collection in the past little while...american workwear, taxi driver, track suits, lacoste polos etc) is getting a little old. I appreciate the craftsmanship, but...

However, the f/w 07 collection seems to be slightly more in step with the womenswear than previous seasons (and I actually like a lot of the pieces in this collection) so maybe there is hope.

Link to some runway video:

F/W 07 mens

F/W 07 womens

Finally, could someone explain or list all the different Junya lines and collaborations because, frankly, it is confusing.

[Platypus]

Here are some excerpts for a V magazine interview with Junya Watanabe - Mar/Apr 2003

It is hard not to feel somewhat robbed (if you are a man) after reading this:

AB Do you keep them separate in your head creatively? Or are they somehow connected?

JW The men's and women's brands have totally different concepts so I think of them separately, totally separately.

AB Your men's line is more like real clothing, jeans and T-shirts, and the women's has this huge element of fantasy. What is fantasy for men? Do they get any of this in their fashion?

JW Basics. Men don't have much fantasy for clothes, I think. It all comes down to the basics. That's the point of starting the menswear. For the women's I research with fabrics and shapes and the patterns; with the men's I really wanted to do something basic.

AB Doesn the men's reflect your personal style?

JW I do like basic for men but that wasn't necessarily the reason I started the men's collection. I wanted to work with basics so that I could become more creative with the womenwear and the way to do that was to start another brand because you can't do something very explorative and very basic in the same collection.

and something about his collaborations with other companies:

AB You have worked with Levi's on your men's collection. And now I understand you are doing something with Nike. How has working with these companies changed the way you design?

JW Working with different companies, and expecially with companies that have been cncentrating on one thing for a long time, had had a big impact. It's not only the end product but bow they work - what they do first, step by step, and the way that the details they work with and the know-how all comes through. Both Levi's and Nike have their own way of doing things. It's difficult to work with someone who has a different system but it also makes you grow as a designer. I think if them as my factories. They have the machines and the technique, the know-how that our factories don't have.

AB Can a new technique inspire an entire collection?

JW The idea comes first. I want to make something and then I ask What do I need to make it real and to make it the best? For example with Levi's, they had everything so I approached them.

Here is a link to the whole interview (thanks to Buckwheat):

Link

[Servo2000]

AB Your men's line is more like real clothing, jeans and T-shirts, and the women's has this huge element of fantasy. What is fantasy for men? Do they get any of this in their fashion?

JW Basics. Men don't have much fantasy for clothes, I think. It all comes down to the basics. That's the point of starting the menswear. For the women's I research with fabrics and shapes and the patterns; with the men's I really wanted to do something basic.

This line right here is really telling and does, to a degree, describe why a lot of members here are dissapointed by his clothing. To be perfectly honest, I've browsed through his menswear maybe once and really wasn't all that interested. I'm seeing now that with my first post I attempted to cater to the primary audience of superfuture (men) by showing more of his menswear, when perhaps he would've been better served by only showing his womenswear. I'm working on a brief preview of his womenswear that I can either post later or edit in to the first post.

I think if you're judging him based on his menswear you're really missing the point, as he designs his mens clothing to be just that: basic.

Which is super dissapointing.

[alterion]

I think if you're judging him based on his menswear you're really missing the point, as he designs his mens clothing to be just that: basic.

Which is super dissapointing.

Yes his meanswear really dissapointed me. CDG and doverstreet market are pioneers in many areas but his deisgns just seem boring or not anything I would wear. Some of his womenswear peices though.. especially this one: are superb

[Ichigo100%]

im not as big on fashion yet, but im starting to grow a good sense of esthetic from observing the many designers that servo puts up.

Ive taken a look at some of the JW's mens line also and so far it hasnt really stood out.However, some of his stuff i find to be quite interesting. But as Jw said: basics. I beleive he shows a point though, and that's that simplicity is beauty.

imo women have a different esthetic to what men have, as they look for more flare whereas men go for more of a subtle but simple esthetic that still garners the right attention. some may disagree with this comment though.

[Crillz]

I'm sorry but his pret a porter clothing is disgusting. I was in CDG a couple days ago and the racks of his things look like someone who works at Jimmy Jazz was hired to make clothing in a Salvation Army look "edgy." His runway pieces are briliant, but all in all, you're looking at clothing to buy, not a pretty view, and his ready to wear disappoints to the fullest.

Edit: Cosign on Jmatsu's comment about the CDG family whoring themselves out to everyone/thing. This wouldn't bother me at all except for their (nonexistant) "revolutionary" standpoint, Kawakubo claims to be this Guerella soldier in the world of fashion and yet works with Disney?

[nairb49]

I'm sorry but his pret a porter clothing is disgusting. I was in CDG a couple days ago and the racks of his things look like someone who works at Jimmy Jazz was hired to make clothing in a Salvation Army look "edgy." His runway pieces are briliant, but all in all, you're looking at clothing to buy, not a pretty view, and his ready to wear disappoints to the fullest.

Edit: Cosign on Jmatsu's comment about the CDG family whoring themselves out to everyone/thing. This wouldn't bother me at all except for their (nonexistant) "revolutionary" standpoint, Kawakubo claims to be this Guerella soldier in the world of fashion and yet works with Disney?

The first part I don't think I totally agree with, once you wear them, its a different story. The cut/fit and construction is really top notch. Granted, its not my cup of tea either in terms of what I would wear, but I have loads of respect for his line. Some of the more recent concepts/aesthetics I haven't been so fond of, and in considering your second statement, I strongly agree that in his old age he's losing control....

[goldengloves]

His womenswear is on a whole 'nother level. I really don't look at the menswear but everytime I see the women's clothing, I have to stop and check it out. The construction, materials, and thought that goes into the clothing is just amazing and I would love to see more women pulling off his garments.

Some F/W looks

I really quite like the eclective, chic, precisely cut clothing. He has a way of working with all sorts of various fabrics and making them into anything he desires, meanwhile making it flattering to the female form.

[goldengloves]

Some of my favorites from one of my favorite seasons.

[Crillz]

Right just to make my first statement clear, I was talking about menswear ONLY. The last time I went to CDG I spent about 5 seconds looking at Junya's men's stuff, and 3 seconds of that was swallowing down my vomit, and a good 10 minutes gazing at the women's stuff; it truly is genius.

[herpsky]

I still want:

[herpsky]

I really liked all of his 2006 F/W collabos with outdoor labels like moncler and north face.

I guess I'm still hypebeastin'