Taking place in the bright and airy courtyard of the Lycée Henri-IV, Shinpei Yamagishi’s spring collection for Bed j.w. Ford was an ode to good old-fashioned hard work. Yamagishi’s clothes operate in the realm of suaveness and sensuality—the kind of pieces that evoke lounge-lizard glamour rather than manual labor—but it clearly takes a lot to get them to appear as effortless as they do.
The little strings of gold and silver bells that tinkled silently on the cuffs of rolled-up sleeves and on the plunging necklines of loose knits were a nod to a bell ringing to signal the end of a work shift, Yamagishi explained after the show. Neckties were loosened and worn rakishly over bare chests or seemingly snipped in half, while velvet droplets—of rain, tears, or sweat—cascaded down some delicate sheer shirts. “They can be whatever you see them as,” he said backstage after the show. “If you see tears, it’s very beautiful tears, and if it’s rain, I want it to be a rain of blessings. I want it to be seen as a positive thing.”
One of Yamagishi’s biggest strengths is his simultaneously bold and sensitive knack for color. This time, cool pistachio and highlighter pink enlivened the mix, slotting smoothly alongside camel, black, navy, and mauve in louche layers that rippled gently in the summer breeze.
The kernel of the collection was hidden in the steel toolbox bags and overalls-inspired looks, which turned out to be a tribute to Yamagishi’s engineer father. “It’s because of the hard work of my family that I’m able to do this and be here today,” said the designer. The rigidity of the toolboxes stood out in contrast to the fluid tailoring that Yamagishi excels at and created a pleasant new tension for the brand that made it look even more elegant than usual. It was a job well done. Now time for a rest.
