Heron Preston, Sankuanz, and Fumito Ganryu kick off Paris Fashion Week

By

Chenu Alexis

Translated by
Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jan 16, 2019

After fans of Virgil Abloh’s darling Heron Preston flocked to see his work under an atmosphere of a cannabis-scented airport, the ambience changed radically on arrival at the l’Hôtel d’Evreux and its Salle des Tirages.

This was the address chosen by Japanese designer Fumito Ganryu, a designer who had spent 13 years earning his stripes at Comme des Garçons and who presented a collection under his own brand at Paris Fashion Week for the first time.

Less conceptual and more wearable than the collection he presented with the brand last June at Pitti Uomo in Florence, the new Fumito Ganryu collection offered a range of monochrome street ear silhouettes against the backdrop of a zen soundtrack. Structured suits and hybrid tailored kimono jackets, oversized down jackets, and duffle coats in exaggerated dimensions were presented in the most beautiful of woollen textiles. The collection was “a cloakroom created first and foremost for 21st century citizens, one that meets their needs,” explained the designer. 

The collection featured accents inevitably reminiscent of Comme des Garçons and Ganryu played around with sets of overlaid textiles, faux-sleeve effects, long skirts for men with elegant suit jackets, and sneakers adorned with pom-poms.

Just a few metres away, in one of the auction house Sotheby’s rooms, the Chinese designer Shangguan Zhe, head of the Sankuanz brand which is rising unstoppably, invited guests to discover his latest art installation before his runway show.

Entitled “1501119.F”, the performance presented a dozen bodies illuminated by neon red light to follow on from a presentation made in the designer’s concept store in Xianmen. The performance encouraged viewers to question the dangers of immortality, cloning, and body-perfection. The runway arena followed on from the presentation and plunged its guests into red and white light.

With a fast-paced tempo, Zhe opened the runway show with a first part featuring a group of male models wearing leather and vinyl suits. With diamonds in their ears and iron gloves, the models wore bell-bottoms or wide-leg trousers. With a cowboy-destroy spirit and '70s flavour, sportswear elements and technical details made the perfect transition to the second part of the show.

From all-denim looks to oversized zips and the designer’s signature military inspirations, the second part of the collection featured camouflage in the form of jackets, multi-pocketed creations, and adorned with reflective tape, hinting at biker or BMX inspirations. Sankuanz’s silhouettes played with deconstructed sportswear and the designer concluded the show with a series of military-style outfits paired with bags created in collaboration with Herschel.