Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris.

Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris.

Sometimes it’s interesting to think backwards from where a designer ended up and take the time to consider what the very original seed of an idea may have been. Thinking in this way can help you to see how a single idea can be developed into an entire collection. In the case of Junya Watanabe, you could imagine that the Spring-Summer 2015 collection all started with a single circle.

Once you have the kernel of an idea, sometimes you will get more out of it if you don’t simply settle for this original concept. Sometimes you can push it in an array of different tangents before you edit out the genius from the mistakes, and finally refine the idea down into a series of stages that can be revealed over the course of a catwalk show.

Using Junya Watanabe as a hypothetical example of this process, you can imagine that after starting with the original idea of a “circle” this initial thought could be pushed past a mere polka dot textile by considering:

  • Layering circles.
  • Intersecting circles like a venn diagram.
  • Using the intersecting sections of the circles to introduce contrast fabrics or colours… or deleting these sections all together.
  • Introducing a square shape to the experiments.
  • Allowing the separated shapes to float away from each other.
  • Using a sheer fabric to support these shapes as they swim off the body.
  • Splicing into the shapes so that they can be linked.
  • Using shapes of the same small scale repeated to create regular and irregular patterns.
  • Use larger versions of the shapes to create sleeves, pockets and overlays off the side of garments.
  • Reduce the 3D experiments down into 2D textiles.

Many of these ideas could even start as explorations in coloured paper or on a computer screen before you even begin to apply them to garments. Of course, depending on what your own concept is you may need to ask yourself very different questions. The fact that we started with a circle in this case means that the questions were mainly visual and based around the principles of design, however if you took a different idea such as “masculine” then your questions may be purely theoretical to begin with.

You may hear fashion design tutors criticise work by saying it is not “pushed far enough” and, in a way, this list is an example of a technique to help you to “push” an idea away from what’s been done before so that you avoid concepts and garments that are too samey and derivative.

Once you have pushed and explored your original kernel of an idea then you may find that you’ve reached a much more interesting and unique starting point from which to begin actually designing in terms of silhouette, colour, fabric and texture. 

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 1. Silhouettes created from intersecting circles.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 2. Intersecting areas are marked by contrast fabrics.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 3. Intersecting areas are also sometimes subtracted.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 4. Shapes begin to split apart.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 5. Squares are mixed with circles.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 6. Shapes fracture off the body, supported by sheer fabric.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 7. Circles are split and combined to create patterns.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 8. Circles, squares and triangles are hidden in patterns.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 9. Clear circular headpieces and triangular flaps on square panels.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 10. Circles combined to create triangles.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 11. Giant dots used to create sleeves.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 12. Dots soften the edges of the base garment.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 13. Triangles are panelled together and used for hem and neckline.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 14. Circles, squares and triangles are hidden in patterns.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 15. Circles panelled together to create triangular pattern.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 16. Intersecting shapes used to create textile pattern.

Pushing Circles at Junya Watanabe | The Cutting Class. Junya Watanabe, SS15, Paris, Image 17. Intersecting shapes used to create textile pattern.

Images from Vogue.co.uk»

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