If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that disaster can go viral at any moment. One second, you’re taking clients out for kaiseki; the next, you’re speeding out of the city on a stolen Vespa, narrowly escaping a zombie outbreak.
Sure, we’re stomping the streets and living our best lives again, but as Junya Watanabe Man FW23 reminds us, who knows what lurks around the corner?
That the tech-forward designer has reworked classic suiting is hardly news. This time, however, the Junya man isn’t just decked out for modern times but for post-apocalyptic possibilities.
Through motocross-inspired etchings on sharply tailored jackets and trousers, Watanabe urges the sort of refinement that’s geared up for anything. Leaning into incognito black, the designer expounds on each piece’s versatility via zip, rugged patches of leather, and hard-wearing quilted elements. If grenade-like cross-body pouches don’t drive the point home, the abundance of utility vests should.