MILAN: The Revenge of the Mods

Junya Watanabe's F/W 2010 collection celebrates 60s glamor, with a contemporary twist and democratized sense of creativity.

I'd hate to point out the obvious but, yay! Hats! In an homage to an earlier, and some might say, more stylish time, the mods make a comeback in Junya Watanabe's F/W 2010. The results are quite breathtaking.
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Okay, I admit a fondness of both Watanabe's amazing reinterpretations year-in-year-out and the early 60s London look, and it is incredibly difficult to be objective under such circumstances, but this collection, for me, really takes the prize. It's a collection that screams for creativity on the part of the wearer as well, as if Watanabe has decided that we the people can be a part of the fashion process too. His eclectic mix of fabrics and patterns screams out for layering and endless interchangeability - buying a Watanabe piece is never a one-time affair but an invitation to reinvent and reinterpret just as he did in laying out his collections.

That being said, this is not a mod collection. This a collection for those serious types who enjoyed the mod look but want a contemporary twist to it. It's all about fitting that gentle swagger seamlessly into the classics, breathing fresh life into a period of history that will never fade away. Oh those swishy cropped pants, that cheeky cardigan, the corduroy topcoat... It's like how hipsters would/should dress if they were not too busy being pretentious snobs and were actually, you know, real people. Just the right amount of what feels right with what feels like it has always been there. A unique, special, and quite lovely collection. Aaron Wee


photos courtesy of GQ