There were multiple layers to Kunihiko Morinaga’s spectacular fall collection: the Anrealage designer continued to push the technological exploration of his previous lineups, projecting an array of images onto his designs evoking cult animé “Ghost in the Shell” and its exploration of what it means to exist.
At their most awe-inspiring, his garments were embedded with 10,000 individually controllable LEDs, reacting with their surroundings to project the same pattern as the background; white dresses took on the cityscapes projected on a screen behind the runway, merging with the landscape, then morphed through a multitude of motifs seemingly at will.
In a less experimental but no less innovative vein, collars, cuffs or elements designed to look like patches were actually designs projected onto LED textiles created with tech company LED Tokyo, activated via remote control. Certain such pieces seen on the runway will soon be developed commercially, Morinaga said backstage; clothing as interactive media is entering the real world.
Amid the showmanship, at which he excels, the Japanese designer also highlighted his hand at pattern and garment structure. His silhouettes and motifs nodded simultaneously to the flower-power movement and exoskeletons, like an oxymoron that in this instance made sense. In no particular order, there were blurred floral patterns in vivid hues, Liberty prints, flared pants with layered or patchwork details like armor, exaggerated cartoonlike wired ruffles, motifs evoking coded numbers or printed circuit boards, on rounded puffer silhouettes, and animé appliqués evoking the themes of the movie in question. “A sci-fi prairie heroine or glam-rock protagonist in futuristic Sgt. Pepper finery,” said the detailed show notes, aptly summing up the mood.
