“I’m still tired. Everything I see looks fake,” says the Japanese designer Mihara Yasuhiro at the start of his Fall/Winter 2023 collection presented during Men’s Paris Fashion Week. In an old department store near Arc de Triomphe in Paris, Japanese tea is being served as the public awaits for Maison Mihara Yasuhiro Fall/Winter 2023 show to begin.
On the pulse of a live drum performance, the first models start walking down the runway. Oversized puffer jackets, deconstructed jean ensembles, leather caps or gigantic knit scarves… The looks created by the Japanese designer are surely embracing an Imitation Complex, – the title and theme of the collection, are a critique against the overproduction of pale imitations in what is now the saturated fashion system.
For the first time in the house's history, fake leather is incorporated into the collection, most of those pieces having been dyed sprayed, to mimic worn-out vintage leather. Noble materials are paired with a nostalgic colour palette. A beautiful brown velvet encounters a technical khaki fabric while some faded, yellowed jeans are enlightened by glossy bright red gloves. But the collection also focuses on the use of extreme padding, and, in the designer’s own words, a lot of them are second-hand items. Also, a collaboration with the jewellery designer Kota Okuda takes the forefront of the collection as dollar bills are printed on dresses, shirts and shawls, symbolising the capitalist culture surrounding the fashion industry.
On another note, it's impossible not to notice the special focus designer Mihara has on footwear, as he launched a shoe line in 1994, while still at university. Furry cuissardes, pointed sneakers or boots with shiny heels shaped as rubber ducks, this season's footwear excels at remembering his trademark. In addition, Mihara is also introducing the Peterson 23, a thicker version of his iconic unnaturally deformed sneaker.
For the show’s final, a shower of silver confetti covered the runway as the models made one last round. Yasuhiro waved at the audience while throwing glitter directly onto the public, thanking the crowd for witnessing this (once again) incredible collection.
For the first time in the house's history, fake leather is incorporated into the collection, most of those pieces having been dyed sprayed, to mimic worn-out vintage leather. Noble materials are paired with a nostalgic colour palette. A beautiful brown velvet encounters a technical khaki fabric while some faded, yellowed jeans are enlightened by glossy bright red gloves. But the collection also focuses on the use of extreme padding, and, in the designer’s own words, a lot of them are second-hand items. Also, a collaboration with the jewellery designer Kota Okuda takes the forefront of the collection as dollar bills are printed on dresses, shirts and shawls, symbolising the capitalist culture surrounding the fashion industry.
On another note, it's impossible not to notice the special focus designer Mihara has on footwear, as he launched a shoe line in 1994, while still at university. Furry cuissardes, pointed sneakers or boots with shiny heels shaped as rubber ducks, this season's footwear excels at remembering his trademark. In addition, Mihara is also introducing the Peterson 23, a thicker version of his iconic unnaturally deformed sneaker.
For the show’s final, a shower of silver confetti covered the runway as the models made one last round. Yasuhiro waved at the audience while throwing glitter directly onto the public, thanking the crowd for witnessing this (once again) incredible collection.
