2008 Junya Watanabe Comme des Garcons Liberty Floral Gold Lace Runway Jacket

Junya Watanabe told The New York Times that fashion for him “is creating something new through clothes,” but for his spring/summer 2008 collection, the Japanese designer looked to the past for inspiration. Among an array of artfully draped blouson dresses appeared a selection of jackets, like this exquisite one, reminiscent of those worn in the late-eighteenth-century habit à la française. Fitted throughout the torso, parting at the hips, trimmed in sumptuous gold lace and flourished with a peplum-like back, it references all the signatures of the regal silhouette. But then the former patternmaker for Rei Kawakubo deconstructs them. He replaces the cravat with a raw undercollar, constructed to peek out from behind a dropped jewel neckline edged with a hand-stitched white ruffled grosgrain ribbon. He swaps out a formal fabric for a sweet crinkled cotton one, embellishing it throughout with rococo dressmaking details, including shirring, gathers and more ruffles—all haphazardly placed