This ain t your grandpappy s dude ranch. It s always interesting when designers from outside the States reflect on Americana. This season, Toga designer Yasuko Furuta took on pioneer America, running the dramatis personae of a spaghetti Western through her patented deconstructifier. What emerged? A very cool folded wool sweater with a horse print, lots of smocks and aprons riffing on the kind of thing ye olde time butcher or blacksmith might wear, white shirting, naive denim. The most attention-getting looks here were undoubtedly the pleated lacquered linen skirts, and the ones that featured great swathes of a superfine, organza-like material draped in rather impressionistic ways. The latter made this collection come off as more challenging than it really was—there were a great many accessible pieces here. Some of them might even work back in Dodge.
