Chitose Abe broke with convention for spring, showing her menswear with a stand-alone show in Paris and her women’s resort collection in the showroom. The designer said this season she wanted to tell two different stories — one at a time — rather than on the same runway.
It makes sense. While menswear was all about subverting classic silhouettes — 1980s preppy, and military-flecked outerwear — the resort collection was about preserving and refining traditional silhouettes for an everyday wardrobe.
During an interview, the designer said she didn’t want the pressure of designing high-impact, “runway clothes” for women and that she wanted to focus on “easy, wearable pieces.” Resort is also easier to sell when it’s presented as a stand-alone collection.
The lineup was quite a palate-cleanser and showed a different side to the designer, who is known for her frequent collaborations, spliced creations, love of embellishment and statement-making clothes. These pieces definitely made a statement, just a quieter one, with a focus on practicality and movement.
Looks included cheeky miniskirts with shorts underneath, trousers and skirts with utilitarian pockets and straps and a lineup of white blouses with sculptural sleeves and flowing scarves at the neck.
Who couldn’t breeze through the hot streets of the city in a silky, printed dress with a scarf detail at the shoulder; a striped shirtdress with a polo collar, or a faded black denim skort and matching jacket with the dramatic, rounded Sacai sleeves?
Abe paired her everyday looks with practical footwear, via a collaboration with Birkenstock. She fused different sandal styles from the German brand, added straps and supersized buckles.
The designer also worked on a shoulder bag with Birkenstock. It has an exterior bottom that resembles the brand’s bone-pattern outsole, and an adjustable strap with its signature square buckle. Fashion doesn’t get more practical than that.
