JAPANESE FASHION – LE BON MARCHÉ RIVE GAUCHE X PENELOPE’S

In celebration of SUPER JAPAN, its major back-to-school theme dedicated to the Japanese archipelago, Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche invites PENELOPE’S to explore one of the most fascinating chapters in Japanese creativity: fashion.

With nearly 230 pieces spanning several decades of design, we set out to tell a brief history of Japanese fashion, which, in the early 1980s, would profoundly shake up Western fashion conventions. Silhouettes liberated from the body, shifted volumes, asymmetries, deconstruction, movement, experimental materials: a new way of thinking about, constructing, and ultimately viewing fashion is taking hold.

Kansai Yamamoto, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Comme des Garçons by Rei Kawakubo and Junya Watanabe, Undercover… Each has its own language, but all share a remarkable freedom from convention, sincerity in the creative process, and a taste for experimentation. The catalog offers a journey through these very different styles, from the colorful exuberance of Kansai Yamamoto to the explorations of Issey Miyake, from the radicalism of Comme des Garçons to the deconstructed elegance of Yohji Yamamoto.

Long misunderstood and sometimes harshly criticized upon its arrival in Paris, this radical fashion movement ultimately brought about a lasting transformation in the way we think about clothing. And while we readily associate it with black, gray, and a certain austerity, the catalog also reveals its full range of whimsy: bold colors, prints, pleats, sheer fabrics, patchwork, and playful combinations of textures and materials constantly subvert this image.

Alongside historical pieces, runway looks, and items designed for collectors, we made a point of putting together a more everyday, easy-to-wear wardrobe: coats, jackets, dresses, skirts, and outfits. For this is perhaps one of the most appealing paradoxes of Japanese fashion: designs that are sometimes radical in concept, yet surprisingly natural once worn.

Decades may separate them, yet many of these pieces could have been designed today. This is undoubtedly one of the great strengths of Japanese fashion: paying very little attention to trends in order to better outlast them.

PENELOPE’S would like to extend its warmest thanks to Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche and its teams for inviting us to participate in SUPER JAPON, and for their trust, enthusiasm, and dedication to bringing this project to life.