Sacai’s Hybridised Approach To Form(ality) and Function
Review of Sacai Fall 2024 Men’s Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
THE THEME
Chitose Abe’s label Sacai still remains an outlier in the art and evolution of garment fusion. Splicing opposing elements together to great effect, and always leaving the viewer guessing when they observe a look from the front, will it be a simple bomber jacket, or will a tailored blazer appear at the back? Such is the designers signature way around construction techniques.
Always seeking to create new ways for her garments to function – via hybridisation – two and three design ideas will often exist within each garment, but her use of fabric as a way to create cohesion has meant that with each collection a unifying thread binds it together. This season Abe was influenced, like many others, with the business of doing business for part of the menswear portion of her co-ed collection. Crisp white shirts appeared as if glitching with pockets that had been sliced into, and strips of fabric inserted, and the ubiquitous tailored pinstripe was used to recontextualise that staple of streetwear, the hoodie (worn alone or layered under a double-breasted suit). In acknowledgement of the changing nature of how we work, the concept was also reversed, as a tailored blazer which gave the air of formality revealed the back developed from a utility jacket. These were some of the more creative looks of today’s collection which helped to engage the show attendees in how the brand is evolving. A mid-section which rendered casual looks in a soft palette of mint gave the collection an unexpected lift and played with the idea of performance outerwear as the bottom half of a knitted sweaters sleeves were borrowed from a bomber jacket and duvet-like layers were harnessed to the model, readying the wearer for an urban expedition.
THE BUZZWORDS
Back to front formality, puffed protection, digi-knits
THE SHOWSTOPPER
Look #15
A creative use of multiplying texture and print is seen in this singular knit pattern, re-worked as a digital graphic across a pleated skirt and wide-legs, while being given a blurred effect through heavily brushed shaggy yarns.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
Creating a cohesive collection out of disparate elements has been the Sacai way for nearly three decades, and todays fall collection was very much lifestyle-driven, although not instantly recognisable on the surface, these looks – when worn individually or layered together as a modular unit – have served Abe well for 25 years. Her aesthetic is often imitated, but is yet to be bettered which is what continues to create an intriguing curiosity each season, to witness where the creative director will go next.
