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Marisa Pinto


It has been a slow burn for designer Chitose Abe, who started her label Sacai back in 1999, after spending eight years as a pattern cutter and designer at Comme des Garçons.
At the start, she sold pieces out of her apartment in Tokyo. She then moved West, looking for investors who would take a chance on a young designer.
Fifteen years on, the Japanese designer is earning compliments from the likes of Anna Wintour and Karl Lagerfeld.
Lane Crawford's ears have pricked up, too. On September 4, Sacai will launch a capsule collection available at luxury department stores in China.
The collection, dramatically called Sacai "THE" composition, will appear in a pop-up space in Lane Crawford IFC, and will showcase 17 new pieces, along with Sacai's autumn-winter 2014 collection.
As ever, the line is true to Abe's signature style of playing with contrasting textures.
While panels of a leather biker jacket sewn onto the hem of a peacoat might seem gratuitous, it's a combination that will always make an impact.
For the capsule collection, Abe sticks to the label's core colour scheme, dishing out 11 navy blue pieces for women, and six for men.
This time she's played it safe. Usually known for her uncanny combinations, the biggest juxtaposition you'll get is in the chiffon pleats on a pair of culottes, or in the heavy gold chain necklaces on a series of square-cut tees and jumpers.

Sacai's usual suspects return for autumn-winter, and there are plenty of moments where Abe offers up the hybrid garments for which she is known.
Asymmetric outerwear is a theme of the season, seen in the patchwork combination of a tweed trench, leather vest, and oversized fur collar.
Elsewhere, Mongolian sheepskin hangs off biker jackets, while down-filled pockets accessorise long, traditional coats, creating an eccentric parka fusion.
Despite supplying to more than 90 international retailers, Abe still owns 100 per cent of Sacai, which means no constraints in her creative direction.
This, she says, is why she has been able to progress with such stealth, after so many years in the industry.
She is inspired by her surroundings, following whatever aesthetic inclination drives her at the time.
Lane Crawford will also carry the label's three other collections, Sacai, Sacai luck and Sacai men's.


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LIFE

Chitose Abe to launch exclusive Sacai collection at Lane Crawford

Lifestyle

Fashion & Beauty

It has been a slow burn for designer Chitose Abe, who started her label Sacai back in 1999, after spending eight years as a pattern cutter and designer at Comme des Garçons.
