Once Treasured, Now Treasure
Review of Junya Watanabe Fall 2026 Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
A collective couture cluster or a physical manifestation of our dedication to mass consumerism, Junya Watanabe assembled objects that we might encounter everyday into artful couture and in doing so gave a way out of our endless cycle of buy, wear, discard, repeat.
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Art and Assemblage, Recycled Rebirth
At Junya Watanabe the master deconstructionist taught a thesis on how to create treasure from what some may discard as anything but.
Accompanying the invitation was a single sheet of paper containing one sentence. Concise and compete, it read ‘The Art of Assemblage Couture.’ The gathering of everyday consumer goods as raw materials and constructing them into works of art is part of Watanabe’s modus operandi, and so it was for fall. The set resembled that of a Parisian salon, with a single wooden chair and chequerboard floor the only decoration. Irinia Shayk opened (an anomaly as the brand seeks to keep the focus on the clothes through the anonymity of its models) with a showstopping gown worthy of the couture calendar, made from protective gear, gloves, and metallic mesh.
The objects selected by Watanabe will have appeared disparate and part of a random collection of finds, but there was a definitive punk thread running through the show. Black of course being a signature colour, today unified dresses that were assembled from parts pulled from biker jackets – including what looked to be an actual windscreen from a motorbike that created a winglike capelet – biker boots, and biker gloves. Forming a motley crew of high-fashion Hells Angels. Other pieces were constructed from paraphernalia you might encounter in a domestic kitchen or bathroom, before the tone shifted towards the more performative with models ensembles becoming increasingly vibrant, akin to those of a cabaret act.
An appreciation for objects lost and found is an underlying theme that is tracking across the season – from Diesels mass memorabilia to Hodakova’s chairs as objet d’art. A select number of designers are questioning the very foundation of their collections in the materials they use to create their clothes. Junya Watanabe understands how to give the very things we don’t give much credence to new meaning. This isn’t upcycling, this is a form of regeneration, giving everyday items a new life in the form of custom couture.
Midway through the collection a model was adorned with the words “Que a paz prevaleca no mundo”, translating from Spanish to ‘May Peace Prevail in the World.’ Another stark reminder of the too few designers who have made bold, if any, statements to the current state of global politics. Yet here the message was a simple one of peace while war continues to rage on.
THE WRAP UP
Today’s notes described Watanabe’s fall collection as ‘born from pure creative instinct.’ And nothing could be closer to the truth as it takes a sharp eye and product know-how to edit and construct such a cross-section of ideas that also seeks to rectify our mass (and over) consumerism as a society.
