Chitose Abe, the creative force behind the Japanese label Sacai, is a visionary in the fashion industry. Her latest collection, presented during Paris Fashion Week, showcased her ability to challenge conventional ideas of style and create something entirely new.
Abe’s design philosophy is rooted in her Japanese heritage and the concept of “kachikan“, which encompasses values and priorities. With this collection, she aimed to deconstruct traditional elements of elegance and reconstruct them with a unique touch. Her signature style involves blending different elements of clothing to create something one-of-a-kind.
In this collection, Abe took classic pieces such as wide-leg trousers, blouses, and outerwear and transformed them into long, streamlined silhouettes with just enough volume to give them that signature Sacai flair. The designer played with contrasts, pairing black and white, solid and transparent, and even front and back, to create visually striking pieces.
The show venue, a former car dealership’s parking garage, emphasized the rawer elements of the collection while highlighting its overall elegance. Standout pieces included layered suit jackets, a skirt with a split that could be transformed with a slim strap, and trenchcoats, a staple in Abe’s designs. Basting stitches, usually used for seam bonding, were kept on as adornment, highlighting the beauty of imperfections.
Abe’s collection may seem like a departure from the Sacai playbook, but it’s simply an expansion of her vision. By splicing these pieces into her overall design philosophy, or into a contemporary wardrobe, interesting hybridizations can occur. The designer’s t-shirt, with the phrase “Everything in its right place“, perfectly encapsulates her approach to design. By shifting the way we look at things, any place can be the right place.
Through her boundary-pushing collections, Chitose Abe is changing the face of fashion one collection at a time. By challenging preconceived notions of style and creating something entirely new, she is inspiring the fashion world to think outside the box and push their own boundaries.
