Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe

18 Mar 2015 | Design Details, Fabrics and Textiles, Pattern Making

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris.

Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris.

The Autumn-Winter 2015 collection at Junya Watanabe was filled with repetitive structures created with a mathematical sense of precision. While the shapes hinted at a rigorous pattern making process, the garments themselves often had a softness and a sense of bouncy movement.

Many of the fabric manipulations hinted at the sorts of patterns that would be needed to make paper lanterns and many of the structures appeared to be created with simple shapes that are ingeniously sewn together with alternating seams. Strips of fabric and circular panels appear to be used to create different slits and gaps. It is then the length and position of the slits or the spacing between the short seams, that is controlled to vary the overall shapes of the structures. Simple changes like varying the way panels are hung, altering the position of join lines or slowly increasing the width of panels, is used to further expand the reach of the concept to create more permutations.

Often it is when gravity takes hold that the fabric opens up allowing the viewer to see the spaces created in the structures. At times, it appears as though stiffening may also be used along the join lines to defy gravity and to hold the fabric away from the body. In the accompanying diagrams some of the complex structures have been imagined in both flat and expanded forms as a guess at what some of the base pattern shapes and construction methods may be.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 1. Pleating helps to create bouncy silhouette.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 2. Honeycomb shapes created by textile strips that radiate from the waist.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 3. Pyramid shapes used to create scarf.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 4. Textile strips joined with alternating lines of stitching and pyramid pattern shapes.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 5. Cone shaped studs on white shirt sleeves.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 6. Collection styled with foam wigs and scribbles on models skin.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 7. Pyramid shapes appear to be created with dart or seam along just one edge.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 8. Triangular shaped pyramids.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 9. Clever seaming technique used to create splits.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 10. Appears to be concentric circles panelled together to create growing volume.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 11. Panels cut to grow out of jacket front pattern piece.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 12. Slits along concentric circles may be used to open up and create shaping.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 13. Curved panels jigsawed together.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 14. Appears to be the reverse of curved panels.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 15. Detail of jigsawed panel pieces.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 16. Vertical strips joined to create honeycomb pattern.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 17. Horizontal strips joined to create honeycomb pattern.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 18. Horizontal strips joined and fabric then draped inside itself.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 19. Colour used sparingly and paired here with sequins.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 20. 3D patterns paired with outerwear.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 21. Snap closures used to join honeycomb.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 22. Appears to be strips that hang vertically and grow in width.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 23. Appears to be fabric strips joined in horizontal rows.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 24. Appears to hint at the way fabric strips are joined with rows of stitching.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 25. Strips joined together in alternating patterns to create honeycomb and diamond effects.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 26. Structure often paired with jersey throughout collection.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 27. Structure may be self supporting or stiffened along stitching lines to sit away from the body.

Honeycomb Pattern Structures at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, AW15, Paris, Image 28.

Struggling to understand how the honeycomb and diamond principles work? It might help to view this video about honeycomb lanterns, but imagine replacing the tissue paper with fabric and with stitches instead of lines of glue.

Honeycomb Pom Pom DIY Video from Dawanda»
Images of Junya Watanabe AW15 from Vogue.co.uk»
Diagrams by The Cutting Class»

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