Paris confirms Japanese mastery with Junya Watanabe, Mihara Yasuhiro and Comme des Garçons

Once again, Japanese creativity stands out in Paris, on the fourth day of the men’s fashion shows. In particular with the designers of Junya Watanabe Man, Maison Mihara Yasuhiro and Comme des Garçons Homme Plus, who have been able to evolve their language in this fall-winter 2025/26 season, with inventive and perfectly mastered collections.

Junya Watanabe sets the scene on Friday morning. The designer has no equal when it comes to reshuffling the cards and renewing the men’s wardrobe each season, by making the most functional and ordinary pieces desirable. This time, he takes us to deep America, where his models could easily blend into the crowd without being noticed.

The cap (or cowboy hat) screwed on a face framed by a bushy beard and long hair, our man seems marked by the hard work of life, firmly planted in his construction shoes, dressed in jeans , sometimes worn short and rolled up, with a checked shirt and an old leather jacket for a typical lumberjack look. For next winter, the Japanese designer is tackling one of the emblems of the American wardrobe, the Mackinaw Cruiser jacket from Filson.

The brand created in 1897 in Seattle by Clinton C. Filson supplied gold prospectors at the time, reaching out over the decades to other outdoor workers. The Cruiser jacket appeared during the Alaskan gold rush and was patented in 1914 by CC Filson, with its parts workwear authentic, using its historical models, solid and made to last, the American label now also appeals to hunters and fishermen.

The Mackinaw Cruiser Jacket has remained virtually unchanged since its debut. It is distinguished by its tartan wool overshirt appearance adorned with numerous pockets, including one full-width patch on the back. Junya Watanabe plays with pockets and their flaps, which he offers in different materials, leathers and colors. He also has fun with the front and back of the jacket, which he recomposes from opposing materials between wool, denim, cotton, suede, leather, nylon, etc.

These variations also affect denim pants with tartan or leather inserts. The utilitarian style subtly combines with a very chic preppy side. As illustrated by the cotton canvas and leather vests which are superimposed on the wool overjacket with large red and black checks, on elegant businessman’s shirts with regimental ties. The brand also collaborated for this collection with Levi’s for jeans and with Paraboot, New Balance and Hainrich Dinkelacker for shoes.

At Maison Mihara Yasuhiro, French rapper Take A Mic sits at a desk at the end of the podium, as if he were on a television set. When the large screen at his back is backlit, the entire backstage is revealed in a Chinese shadow. As is often the case, a certain melancholy floats over the show of the Japanese designer anchored in the grunge era of the Nineties. Everything looks a little dusty and faded. Like this series of military jackets in faded canvas, worn and damaged, or these cleverly faded jeans.

The silhouettes are made up of a poorly identified stratification of gray fleece clothing (hoodies, t-shirts, sweaters), checked shirts, flannel or fine ribbed velvet jackets. Sequins and tiny geometric patterns look from afar like dust or paint stains on sweatpants or extra-wide jeans.

Mihara Yasuhiro reworks his classics with a series of hybrid garments, deconstructed, decomposed and reconstructed in new proportions, whose barycenter is often misaligned. Like these pants, the right part of which escapes and widens outwards with an oversized pocket, very practical for stuffing your baguette! The sleeves of the shirts multiply or take a tangent, transforming into a scarf, twirling around the neck.

A mix and match of jackets and shirts is transformed into a skirt. Elsewhere, the skirt is made from cut-out pants. The ribbing of a bomber jacket is moved to the top of the jacket, replacing the collar. A padded sky blue striped shirt adds volume and plays the jacket on a denim ensemble.

The designer sprinkles this wardrobe with touches of humor. In particular, in playful accessories, such as these small handbags with a banana or an ice cream cone as handles or these ankle boots in the shape of shoppping tote or a luxury handbag, such as this black quilted model with its two golden chains… very Chanel. Models identical to those developed by the Spanish label Abra last season.

See the parade

Comme des Garçons Homme Plus closes this fourth day with a punchy collection, entitled “To Hell With War”. Rei Kawakubo once again launches a profoundly anti-militarist and anti-violence message of peace through her clothing.

On the poignant voice of Nina Simone, who calls to “let the wind blow on your heart” (Let the wind blow through your heart), she parades young recruits who look like deserters. As wonderfully illustrated by its new model of lace-up shoes, a sort of clown shoe whose toe is completely raised upwards, perfectly giving the idea of ​​braking or walking backwards.

In Rasta dreadlocks, wearing a helmet covered with a colorful turban and flowers, the models don uniforms that are shattered. Shapes, colors, camouflage, patterns… The designer shakes up everything in her path. Officer jackets with double rows of gold buttons take on the appearance of frock coats, worn over crumpled silk shirts. The pants swell into baggy shapes or are shortened into loose flared Bermuda shorts. Everything is cut and recomposed, narrowed or elongated, fitted, lightened, zipped, from completely remodeled jackets to rounded pants, including long skirts adorned with pockets.

Brocade or floral fabrics suddenly appear in these military looks. Khaki wools and canvases gradually mix with textured velvet or denim. They are inserted into pockets and collar in a blue striped shirt. Sometimes, only a patch of this loden green remains in brightly colored patchwork coats and jackets, while pixelated multi-colored shirts sparkle under some dark jackets.