Junya Watanabe
Designer: Junya Watanabe

• “In essence, we have seen Watanabe do these things before and this collection felt like he was taking ownership of them. In the wrong hands faded denim, biker black leathers and patchwork plaid could look… well, wrong. That certainly wasn’t the case here.” [Dazed Digital]
• “When Junya Watanabe’s rebel spirit took to the catwalk yesterday–punkish hair, red lips, zippered leather, deconstructed denim, a patch of tartan here, a splash of check there–the result was quintessential Junya: the energy, colour, complexity, wit and succinctness with which he tells his story every season is truly something to behold.” [ELLEuk.com]
• “Japanese avant-garde designer Junya Watanabe delivered a collection based on the biker jacket: a garment he has continually worked into his designs. The jacket was reworked into short, structured dresses, the stiff leather on the bodice juxtaposed with softer fabrics such as wool and chiffon: one even had the look of a biker-cum-evening gown.” [The Independent]
• “She may have a lady bag but punk’s definitely not dead.” [NOWFASHION]
• “A nice bunch of clothes along familiar Watanabe story lines.” [On The Runway/The New York Times]
• “Watanabe seemingly presented his own past collections as the ready-mades and decided to liberally lift from himself, there was a kind of cheeky meta-fashion.” [Style.com]
• “Why is it that Junya Watanabe’s name isn’t continually lauded to the rafters as one of the Greats of fashion? His collection today proved it yet again—that he’s a unique master of cool-casual; a maker who fuses his impeccable, signature cutting with familiar street-generic clothes everyone loves, and a designer whose reality-dressing never comes without a touch of romance.” [Vogue.com]
• “What worked so successfully about this collection–there was less code-deciphering and more straight-forward wearing, jackets and jeans winning us over.” [Vogue.com UK]
• “The biker jacket has had some play on the fall runways, and on Saturday morning, Junya Watanabe took it out for a ride of his own with a fresh and intelligent spin.” [WWD]