Inspired by “Men & Women,” a series of photos shot by Bruce Weber in the ‘80s, Mitsuru Nishizaki explored the notion of luxury through the layering of precious cloths. Like contemporary urban nomads, he wrapped his models in superpositions of fabric in a play of contrasts between tailored structures and indulgent, ample volumes.
His combination of menswear pinstripes, formal doeskin habitually used for eveningwear, matte wools and satiny nylon taffeta was worked in a palette of neutrals interspersed with dusty pale yellow and mulberry, the largely tone-on-tone styling highlighting his meticulous attention to detail.
Weighty fringed wool scarves merged with half-length wide sleeves on over-overcoats. The slanted square dimensions of wide, cropped jackets and capes, punctuated with buttons and fastening details, structured his silhouettes and amplified the volumes.
A novel version of the double-breasted jacket featured slits on the sides, creating a bib-like panel at the front and allowing the arms to emerge from beneath. Double sleeves on certain silhouettes heightened the voluptuous approach. Nishizaki used apron-like skirts, meanwhile, to create similar proportions on the lower half of the body. On the more urban silhouettes, his shiny raincoats had slightly ruched seams, augmenting their dimensions but adding a sense of airiness as they passed by on the runway.