Deconstruction in fashion is associated with designers like Rei Kawakubo and Martin Margiela who turned seams inside out and exposed pockets, revealing the innards of the garments along with the design process. For the past couple of seasons Mister It.’s Takuya Isagawa has taken this approach beyond the clothes and applied it to his fashion shows. The designer—who learned his craft at Margiela in Paris—has begun holding what he calls “open fittings,” combining an old couture-style runway show with a model fitting, which he performs for the audience in a brightly lit Tokyo studio.
At his show this evening, Isagawa appeared on the runway to introduce himself and briefly explain the concept, then sat off to the side as the models came out. Half of them carried nylon canvas shopping bags embroidered with a smiley face. As they paused next to Isagawa, he took these smiling bags and hung them onto an old-fashioned hat stand in the center of the runway, dressing it up like a person. Fun but bemusing. It also tended to distract from the clothes—which were actually pretty good.
Isagawa makes elevated casual clothing that he intends as “haute couture for the everyday,” and this season continued to develop a few of his signature design quirks, elongating trench coats so that they swept out into dramatic capes. He cut tailoring in mud-dyed floral prints and added oversized square pockets to slim flared jeans. The brand’s coat hanger-shaped leather handbags made an appearance too; on one hung a double-breasted brown wool blazer subtly enlivened with rainbow-colored windowpane checks. The final look was an ivory down jacket that was covered with giant badges depicting all of Mister It.’s stockists. Totally original? Yup. Bizarre? That too.
There is something quietly radical about Mister It. In an industry where cultivating mystique is the thing, a designer putting himself onto his own runway without any fanfare (or seemingly any ego) is both disarming and refreshing. “I want to create a sense of closeness,” he explained after the show. “Being a fashion designer isn’t just about making clothes. I also want to design how customers experience the clothes so that they will be happy.”
Overall there were too many ideas battling for attention here, but Isagawa displayed a subversive and generous soul that was entertaining to watch. Even if you’re not sure what you’ve just seen, only a real misery guts could leave a Mister It. show without a smile.
