N. Hoolywood
Daisuke Obana always has a way of injecting drama into even the simplest of show formats. And this season was no exception.
For his spring show, the designer took over a theater at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, with a pitch black stage — even the photographers in the pit were asked to wear ponchos from black cloth so as not to disrupt the mood.
Obana then paraded his models out one by one in military fashion, having them stop mid-stage under a large spotlight to showcase the lineup inspired by England’s punk and military culture.
“It had been 18 years since I last went to London,” the designer said backstage after the show. But in a recent visit, he focused on being a tourist, taking in Savile Row, vintage military shops and the legendary punk shop “Worlds End,” and then mashing those influences together before deconstructing them in the N. Hoolywood way.
The first four looks featured an oversize red plaid — whose fabric was sourced from Undercover’s Jun Takahashi’s archive — that he used in blazers worn with skirts, oversize shirts and a trenchcoat with oversize pockets, effectively mixing classic tailoring with utilitarian elements. Each of the garments brought home the collections theme with the words “Rebel Fabric” emblazoned on black hangtags on the sleeves.
Suits in mismatched fabrics and oversize hunting vests in windowpane patterns worn under pinstriped oversize shirts and plaid pants, each added another bit of a rebel element to the mix.
A black leather biker jacket, worn over a rich silk-screen printed T-shirt, with baggy pinstripe pleated pants — with a matching blazer tied around the waist — was the perfect balance of the collection’s theme, mixing sartorial with punk.
Obana’s collections always tend to be thematically heavy, but this time, even though the English references were very clear, the collection was refreshing and young.