Before the garments, there were the frescoes. The Issey Miyake show took place in a building that, since 2007, has served as France’s Museum of Immigration History. This rebranding appropriately shifted the building’s original purpose. Initially constructed in the late 1920s, it was known as the Museum of Colonialism. In 1931, during an international exhibition dedicated to showcasing the nation’s global colonial interests, it attracted a staggering 8 million visitors.

The central forum of this building, where the Miyake show unfolded, is adorned with 600 square meters of frescoes painted by Pierre-Henri Ducos de La Haille. These vividly depict France as a heroic female figure draped in imperial red, surrounded by the majestic galleons and frigates of global commerce. These maritime connections link her to numerous “dependencies” across five continents. As we eagerly awaited the show’s commencement, it was captivating to examine this remarkable, almost anachronistic monument.

And then, the garments took center stage. Satoshi Kondo’s collection, titled “What Has Always Been,” transcended mere history or style. Instead, it delved into deeply ingrained human habits. Certain elements felt almost metaphysical, such as the fluted, flower-like apertures framing each of the body’s five extremities in the initial looks. Other pieces seemed to sprout sleeves from ankles to arms, as though they had organically grown around the wearer. Carefully draped ensembles, composed of layers of square fabric, evoked imagined paleoanthropological archetypes of self-protection—reminiscent of Stone Age humans swathing themselves in skins and pelts long before the advent of weaving.

Occasionally, the brimmed visors perched above head scarves on Kondo’s elegantly draped pieces, crafted from technologically advanced Miyake fabrics, evoked a romantically nomadic ambiance. These visors alluded to ancient waves of human migration, predating the grandiose yet discredited propaganda depicted in the surrounding paintings.