ANREALAGE: Empowered, spontaneous, and radiant clothing [Women's Spring/Summer 2018]

Sep 28, 2017

On September 26th, ANREALAGE presented their Spring/Summer 2018 collection in Paris. The venue was the museum adjacent to the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris's 6th arrondissement. Designer Morinaga, who continues to question the very nature of clothing and push its limits, chose "POWER" as his theme for this season. In his collection notes, he wrote, "See power. The power of clothes no one has ever seen. Wear power. The power of clothes no one has ever worn. Power in clothes." He then handed out small, unremarkable T-shirt-shaped sheets. When pressure was applied to the sheets in the dark, they began to glow like fireflies. While the audience was distracted by the mysterious sheets, the show began with music by Sakanaction's Ichiro Yamaguchi. The opening show featured dresses made of gathered and ruffled mesh fabric wrapped around them with duct tape-like bands, creating various expressions, randomly puffing and wrinkling. While the bands may seem to restrict and bind the body, they gradually blend into the clothing as the looks progress. They continued to be worn on casual wear, including cropped pants, dresses with the ANREALAGE logo, and hooded jumpers. After a series of billowing, girly dresses, as if enjoying both restraint and liberation, the look transformed into a PVC raincoat-like look. The bands served as decorations, transforming into colorful geometric patterns, seemingly changing shape with each look.

For the final six looks, models appeared in all-white outfits with bands wrapped around them. When the venue was darkened, the garments lit up with a fluorescent glow. The only garments worn were the clothing and the bands, revealing no gimmicks, even up close. The models bent and stretched, emphasizing the stretchy material of the bands. The show concluded with a round of applause from Morinaga, expressing surprise, excitement, and admiration.
ELIE INOUE
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