Going Wild in the Wilderness at Sacai
Review of Sacai Fall 2025 Men’s Fashion Show
By Angela Baidoo
THE COLLECTION
THE VIBE
Wandering in the Wilderness, Rugged Hybridisation, Knit Furs
This season Sacai creative director Chitose Abe let her wild side out as the popular children’s picture book ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ by Maurice Sendak was a key inspiration for the collection.
Building on the season-long narrative around what it means to be a man today and man going back to his most basic instincts, from Milan to Paris both the ‘Wild Man’, ‘Cave Man’ and the ‘Woodsman’ have become muses in a return to less harmful traditional views of masculinity which rely on man being at one with nature.
The first look on the runway showed the Sacai Man’s journey to devolution as a deconstructed tailored blazer with cargo pants was draped with a fur-like ‘hide’ that was actually a textured cardigan made of a new ‘Knit-fur’ developed by the brand. Replicating the plot of the book where the child cosplays as a wild animal and is transported to a jungle where actual ‘Wild Things’ do in fact reside. Following that we got advanced mountaineering kits, complete with the ultimate survival backpacks – perfect for a trek in the woods but even better for the sub-zero temperatures the city kids who love the brand are having to get used too.
There were plenty of Sacai classics on display, from the reworked tailoring to the pieced and panelled outerwear, but the addition of rougher textures in the form of super-shaggy ‘knit-fur’ also reflects the hybrid lives we live – working from home on auto-pilot while an entire generation is checking out. The focus on nature is also almost ironic, as we contend with the disappearance of large swathes of our natural environment, if designers want us to return to the outdoors in a sartorial sense, then let’s also hope they are supporting initiatives to protect it too.
Fans of the brands collaborations will also be elated at the fact that the well-received Carhartt WIP partnership is making a return as their signature canvas is spliced with knitwear and glossy leather, while UGG were responsible for the Yeti-like knee boots and cosy makeover of the hiking boot.
THE DIRECTION
THE WRAP UP
Taking the children’s book ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ as a starting point was a clever reference for Chitose Abe, as not only did it provide inspiration for the development of a new ‘knit-fur’ fabric to be mixed in with the brands signature spliced silhouettes, but the humorous hand-drawn illustrations of the beasts from the book – which became a graphic design for an oversized knit – has the potential for a successful accessories focussed spin-off.
