Interview

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Sacai's designer Chitose Abe is like a girl who can't decide what to wear. Instead of piling on too many clothes, she simply selects what she likes, the back and sleeves of a cardigan and the sheer front of a chiffon blouse with pin tucks and covered buttons say, and turns them into one intriguing piece. A necklace for Abe might be a detached coat collar covered with a three-strand pearl choker. But more than just combining disparate pieces, Abe folds and twists so that her combinations seem to be blowing artfully in the wind. A longtime collaborator with Comme des Garçons and Junya Watanabe, Abe has kept her brand quiet for eleven years and in that time she has managed to sell the world's top stores (Dover Street Market, Barney's Maxfields, Colette). Now the secret is out and we should be hearing a lot more from her in the future.