Chaotic Juxtaposition

Anrealage AW21

Designer Kunihiko Morinaga of Anrealage explores the chaos of the covid-19 era. With everyone's worlds turned upside down, the fashion industry did not have solid ground during this time. What were once lively weeks where industry professionals and socialites converge and admire the artworks of these designers are now links to virtual fashion shows sent to a select few in the industry. It all came to a screeching halt in 2020.

Life lived through digital screens have no top or bottom, everything floats in this dimension. Wardrobe classics are juxtaposed with their zero gravity counterparts, with models alternately parading on the ground on the ceiling. Buttons and hardware slide to the top of a classic trench with a raised collar. Confetti-like concentrations of dots, checks and houndstooth motifs accumulate around the shoulders of coats with cocoon silhouettes. This season, even the House's name is sewn upside down with the care instructions collapsing at the bottom of the label.

Around half of the collection is cut from a specially developed fabric with antiviral properties. Textile technology has made the news pretty often in the last decade, predominantly due to the rise of athleisure and smart athletic wear. Consumers looked to companies that provided moisture wicking textiles as well as garments that deflected odor. With the groundbreaking changes of covid-19, textile technologies that were used to develop medicinal releases for ill patients can now be used to develop the garments of the future with additional protection. Anrealage is making the futuristic technology functional for everyday fashion.

See VIDEO here.