For the upcoming issue of HEROINE we discussed with Chitose Abe, creative director and owner of the Sacai mega-brand, some of the secrets behind its phenomenal success. She spoke of her creating Sacai’s unique silhouettes as a process of deconstructing the classics and combining the contrasts, an unbroken formula executed with perfection once more on her pure white Parisian plinths under the vaulted ceilings of the L’Oratoire du Louvre.

Sacai knitwear, which formed the entirety of her very first womenswear collection sixteen years ago, is celebrated once again for men with asymmetrical scarves styled under thick crews and wool blazers. Shearling, another fabrication of note this season, is brilliantly used across solid outerwear and then inverted into an insane pair of furry cargo trousers. Pinched quadrangle bucket hats sitting atop of pedestaled models add to the sense of mechanisation behind the looks rotated on eerily glowing blocks. Also to note is the sheer variety of shapes and textures included in this collection, featuring stripes, coloured checks, leopard prints  – there is so much that only a second viewing would only begin to reveal.

Reaching a majestic crescendo, totally fitting the light beams licking the walls, the final looks enter in the form of two outstanding, otherworldly, macro-herringbone draped gents. One in a hybrid creation, half technical raincoat, and half huge fringed poncho, the other in an all body binding blanket scarf in matching marble tones. Finishing off the look, both models wear matching metallic Birkenstocks. Quirky understated details like these always make a Sacai show a marvel of fabrication and engineering – even if you do choose to wear your gilded sandals with socks.