Following Number (N)ine’s Guns N’ Roses themed Spring/Summer 2006 collection, Takahiro Miyashita took a drastic departure for his Fall/Winter 2006 collection. Stepping away from his recurring inspiration (music), Miyashita instead opted to focus around a solitary color: black. Appropriately titled “Noir”, each and every piece on the runway was entirely black, a daring move few apart from Yohji Yamamoto or Rei Kawakubo had ever dared to take. Highlighting Miyashita’s tailoring expertise, the show was a masterclass in layering, drape, fit and texture, all odes to Miyashita’s prodigious talent.

Keeping with previous Miyashita seasons at Number (N)ine, the clothes themselves were chock full of musical, military, and vintage references. Notable pieces include beautiful cashmere overcoats, cloaks with Napoleonic era officer detailing, a knit cape with exaggerated safety pins in place of buttons, exaggerated studded bombers, extended double rider jackets in tailoring fabrics, and numerous military BDU shirts all, of course, in various shades of black. The show was, in many ways, a disappointment for fans and critics following such an over-the-top Spring/Summer collection. Yet, this ability to straddle extremes was in retrospect further testament to Miyashita’s abilities, and today the collection—as opposed to others during his tenure—has aged gracefully, and comprises some of the most sought after pieces prior to the designers departure.

Text: @archivesriches