HUNTING WORLD presented its first Milan runway collection, the Fall/Winter 2018-19 collection, on January 15th, the final day of Milan Fashion Week. With White Mountaineering's Yosuke Aizawa as creative director, the brand debuted at Pitti Uomo 92 in Florence in June of last year, and this was its first Fall/Winter collection to be unveiled in Milan, drawing much attention. The previous debut collection was themed around the brand's DNA, "travel," and presented light, spring/summer pieces in a youthful style, paired with the brand's iconic Battue cloth bags. This season, the brand returns to 1965, the year the brand was founded, and the collection is themed around the atmosphere of the 1965-70 era. The show opened with a classic windowpane wool coat paired with a Battue cloth bag featuring a Navajo print on the front. The collection combines checked wool, denim, and suede with military-inspired American casual styles of the time, accented with Native American-patterned bag straps.

The idea for these straps, a collaboration with Chicago guitar strap manufacturer Soldier, likely evokes the 1969 Woodstock Festival. The sound of the show was also hard guitar rock throughout. Other notable additions include a collaboration with contemporary artist Daniel Arsham, popular among musicians and designers, who turned American subcultural icons into ruins in the form of white sculptures. The final pairing of the black and white stadium jacket and white duffel bag is sure to garner attention in the market.

A particularly notable feature this season was the expansion of the women's line. The prints, inspired by the brand's numerous scarf design drawings left behind in Como, Italy, are available in a wide range of silk and nylon fabrics. These archive patterns are used on feminine pieces like dresses, blouses, and pants, as well as outdoor items like mountain jackets. These designs are combined with ponchos, down coats, and bulky knitwear to create sporty, urban casual looks.

Psychedelic brand logo sweatshirts, T-shirts, and pattern-on-pattern Native American prints complement Yosuke Aizawa's signature style perfectly with the brand's colors.

Text: Tatsuya Noda