K-Way brought a petite corner of Paris to the new BasicVillage at Milan Fashion Week to present its Fall/Winter 2023 R&D collection. They rebuilt the scene from fifty-eight years ago when the rainproof jacket was born, woven white and green chairs combined with classic coffee tables featuring marble tops edged with gold directly installed from Paris’ Café de la Paix. The same tables where, on a drizzly day in 1965, Léon-Claude Duhamel invented the original packable rain jacket. The idea came to him as he watched the passers-by at Place de l’Opéra and noticed a mother as she rushed past with two children in red nylon jackets. The rest became history: an invention so influential, and yet simply born out of Duhamel identifying a need and letting his imagination do the rest, before K-Way soon became a statement in both French and Italian dictionaries.

The FW23 show was less runway and more a real-life scene in which guests are all active participants and the catwalk could have been any normal street. Models weave in and out of the tables as the passers-by at Place de l’Opéra once did, showcasing the R&D collection: the most aesthetically advanced expression of K-Way conceptions, focusing on high-impact design, cutting-edge materials and technical innovation. The colors of the café décor – the cream and green of the chairs, the blue of the furnishings – run through the collection, accented by the iconic orange of K-Way’s signature tape, and of course, are combined with timeless black. The silhouettes play with dimension, length and texture across winter-wear, reworking classics including the bomber, puffer, and anorak jackets – varying from extra-cropped to exaggerated proportions reminiscent of oversized quilted capes. Bermuda shorts and trousers flaunt expansive billowing volumes. Looks combine multiple layers, constructed with a practical attitude and an ever-playful spirit; starting with temperature-regulating base layers and so and lightweight vibrantly colored tops which rest beneath bold protective coats and jackets. An experimental approach towards materials creates unexpected effects which update enduring icons with a tactile quality: all-over pleats, patterned monograms which punctuate the outside or lining, eco-fur, and contrasting shiny and matte surfaces. The overall look is dynamic and eye-catching, rounded off with ultra-sartorial Parisian foulards and berets, mid-top rubber boots and gaiters, along with nylon and satin handbags, shoulder bags, crossbody bags and cases.

For K-Way, innovation cannot come at the cost of the environment. Fabrics are natural and include jacquard cottons, mohair, and merino wools, as well as those made with Loro Piana’s Storm System technology or sustainable production processes like AMIABLE, which is born from recycled nylon scraps bonded to a silver membrane for the new season. Sustainability is accounted for down to the interior padding inside puffer jackets, made from Molina recycled down. Technical performance is another continued focus, highlighted by the high-visibility Majocchi Reflective fabric, amongst others.

This coming March 2023, K-Way® will continue its return to its roots in Paris during the French capital’s own Fashion Week, at the actual Café da la Paix, with a celebratory event that will bring the brand back to where it all began.

k-way.fr

@kway_official