undercover

As any great artist should, Jun Takahashi pondered several questions about the state of fashion in his fall collection for Undercover. Each looked seemed to be a walking question mark in search of the meaning of tailoring, sportswear, American streetwear, and of course, the future. I feel like Paris fashion is the most adept at looking at fashion in the future. Where will it be? Who will buy it? Who will design it? Such abstractions may seem pretentious for fashion, but we are what we wear, and why not ask questions, especially when they are so thoughtfully and oddly dazzling at Undercover.

The hooded sweatshirt, unlike any other article of clothing, has had a tremendous effect on how we define youth in the 21st century. In a world run rampant by man and woman-children, post-collegiates who don't want the responsibility of becoming their parents, and major fashion trends aimed at the tween set, the hooded sweatshirt has become a bit of a symbol for those of us who never want to grow up and want to wear something that comfortably reminds of what we would wear to play on the monkey bars. Ellen Page's entire wardrobe in "Juno" consisted of a variety of hoodies and Michael Cera clamored to his during his would-be first time in "Superbad." Grown up fashion magazines, more so men's magazines, tell us how to incorporate them into our work wardrobe. Michael Kors and Juicy Couture, among many other young, trendy labels, have started offering hoodies in cashmere and other luxe fabrics. Takahashi played with the concept of the hoodie in this collection, but here it was exaggerated to the ankles or done in fabrics you wouldn't expect. Puffer jackets, baggy trousers, and bulky sweaters are normally found on your average tenth grader, but here it was chic and something completely new. There's a certain comfort in those clothes that evoke something traditional, but the Daryl Hannah in "Blade Runner" makeup and coneheads on the models looked as if an alien from the distant future transported to a local high school and co-opted the new styles. The outerwear was especially strong with interestingly and intricately layered looking blazers, coats and a baby blue motorcycle jacket immersed under fur shoulders and straps across the bust. For such a futuristic show it never veered into something too austere or avant garde. Pick apart each look and there's something great and uniquely wearable along the way. If you're going to pay the price, you might as well get the greatest bang for you buck.

The idea of sportswear in relation to youth culture was done to death in New York without much precision or mature thought. Here it looks fresh and as if what we've been wanting to see has finally landed.