Review of Juun.J Spring 2024 Men’s Fashion Show
Bodysuit Positivity
By Mark Wittmer
A sometimes overlooked but strong and steady presence at Paris Men’s Fashion Week since 2007, Juun.J has been quietly ahead of the curve when it comes to trends and ideas that are shaping modern fashion (and particularly menswear), like the post-streetwear mentality and gender fluidity. His latest collection continues to break down and synthesize categories and subtly puts them to work for an exploration of how clothing shapes our concepts of gender and class.
Spring 2024 saw the designer continue to push his distinct blend of oversized grunge power and idiosyncratic tailoring while layering in looks to “high-fashion” glamor and elegance.
The first look balanced delicacy and softness by executing architectural motorcycle clothing in a soft shade of pink, reconfiguring the top half of a jump by tying the arms into a bow and creating a gathered effect at the waist that looks almost gown-like. This modular, hybridized principle was carried throughout the collection, with deconstructed jeans and suit pants creating a cascading and layered, leg-forward silhouette.
Meanwhile, these hippy and leggy looks were woven between tailoring that emphasized powerful shoulders, with oversized suit jumpsuits (a clever synthesis between workwear and office wear) and sleeveless jackets suggesting mobility and strength.
Simultaneous threads of grunge (a common reference point for Juun.J) and sparkly opulence (less common for Juun.J) also popped up throughout the collection, particularly towards its later looks. The half-worn jumpsuit idea reappeared in grungified form, and was quickly followed by a slinky silver bodysuit emblazoned with the word “skin” in a metal album cover-esque font, the appearance of which focuses the collection’s theme of a fluid consideration for the body as something we all share.
Synthesizing seemingly distinct categories of clothing and aesthetics – tailored suits and bodysuits, glam and grunge – Juun.J proposes a reconsideration of the boundaries of how we dress and the divisions we put up between people.