Doublet Men’s Fall 2022
“This season, I really wanted to make an analogue metaverse. As I was working on this collection, we had the Olympics and Paralympics in Japan, and I found myself deeply moved by the Paralympics. At that time, I started to think about what diversity means to me, and if I think about a place that has natural diversity, I think about the atmosphere of the metaverse, which has people who look like avatars or animals, but no one thinks about this as diversity. It’s just expected,” Masayuki Ino said about his latest collection.
In order to create what he called an “analogue metaverse,” the designer staged his show at an outdoor photo studio that was a full-sized replica of the iconic Shibuya crossing in Tokyo. Only instead of the giant LED screens and buildings that it is known for, it was surrounded only by green screens. And rather than the throngs of people waiting to cross the intersection at every green light, Ino enlisted fashion students as extras, each one dressed to look like a unique avatar.
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He took the metaverse theme further by having each of his models don the same realistic mask and pink wig, so while their bodies were very different, each one looked the same from above the neck. Ino also aimed for inclusive sizing, saying after the show that it didn’t make sense to him that a size medium should only fit small people, as is often the case in Japan. Instead, he created sizes that could be worn by different body types, but whose silhouettes would differ depending on the wearer.
Ino showed genderless, softly tailored suits and separates in basic black, shocking pink and leopard print. These were complemented by more casual tracksuits, denim jackets spray painted with hearts, shrunken animal motif knits, and loose-fitting corduroy pants. There were also puckered and ribbed jersey pieces that stretched to accommodate the body of the wearer, and cozy fleece pullovers, jackets and shorts in oversize shapes.
The designer’s theme of diversity was mirrored in his choice of models, which included both cis and transgender men and women, as well as differently abled models who traveled the runway in a wheelchair or with the help of a prosthetic leg. Each one was beautifully unique, and yet with the addition of Doublet’s custom made masks for the season, there was also an element of uniformity. During the finale, when the models all tore off their masks and joyously skipped or rolled across the intersection, the beauty of diversity was in plain view.
Launch Gallery: Doublet Men's Fall 2022
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