January 27, 2006

On the brightly hued sheets of paper that awaited guests on their chairs, Naoki Takizawa claimed addiction to color as a personal trait, which made the somber opening of his latest collection for Issey Miyake something of a surprise. After the show, he mentioned that black is, as far as he's concerned, one end of the spectrum. By then, though, no one needed reassurance from Takizawa about his true preferences. Not only was he wearing the orange side out on his reversible blouson, but the clothes he had sent down the runway had shown where his heart lies.

The love of color was particularly clear in the final passage of vivid Jacquard jackets, coats, and pants, with the models carrying huge armfuls of flowers. But leading up to that moment, Takizawa had steadily leaked his favorite shades into the collection: a pale aqua parka, an orange Puffa waistcoat, a Cat-in-the-Hat striped sweater (with cat ears on the matching hat). He also put his own spin on the military influence that has been intensifying elsewhere this season, with a cutaway soldier's jacket in orange and an Air Force blouson in a deep purple-y blue.

Takizawa stuck with the gently tailored silhouette that makes his clothes so attractive to a certain shape (and age) of man. But this time, the seam treatments that are something of a signature for him had a different twist: they were inspired by a Tibetan practice whereby seams are expanded with inserts of fabric as a child grows or clothes are handed down. So jackets and knitwear had contrasting strips of pattern and texture running down their sides and backs. The effect was charming.

— Tim Blanks