LVMH award-winning Masayuki Ino’s ingenious Doublet brand throws perhaps the most entertaining show of fashion month every year and it’s not just because of celebrity guests or a fancy ensemble . Each season, Ino presents a brilliant range of wearables that take its high-profile fashion dramas to new heights – literally, in the case of Spring/Summer 2023.
That is to say, Doublet SS23’s signature pieces, “IF YOU WANT IT”, are a series of “headless” jackets and sweaters that made the models on the runway look like they had been decapitated by cleverly reinforcing the necklines of the garments with shoulder pads.
If they look like the padded pieces Doublet did for Fall/Winter 2019, the pads will be removable so you can wear the track jacket, turtleneck or double-breasted coat as normal, but where’s the fun in it?
Ino’s predilection for fabulously creative, makeover clothes has manifested in crazy costumes and transforming sandals, so SS23 isn’t exactly her craziest offering yet but, compared to many of her convention-conscious peers, the Japanese designer is standing.
Here are the mules that fitted many of his designs, for example (light shades of COMME des GARÇONS or The Soloist and Midorikawa’s Suicokes), testing every natural instinct we possess to darken our feet (and rightly so).
Considering Doublet SS23 also debuted a popcorn dress with a model-inspired print, trompe l’oeil pants galore, and a tracksuit with individually labeled pieces, the shoes seem like part of an homage. extended to Margiela, the industry’s first earth-shattering.
While the Belgian designer certainly set the tone for Ino’s playful progressiveness, plenty of other clues are only Doublet’s.
The “rusty” rider jacket, the layering of pieces that deteriorate into long strings, and yes, the aforementioned head-concealing outerwear is pure Ino.
And, while the ensemble pales in comparison to the ingenuity of fashion on the runway itself, it reflects Ino’s greatest creative ethos.
“It’s possible to snow in Paris in the middle of summer,” he said in the SS23 collection show notes. “May the smile…spread again.”
