My Own Private Portland (via Paris through a Japanese lens)

Number (Nine) Fall 08 photo Marcio Madeira, via men.style.com

Fall 08 was not the first season Japanese designer Takahiro Miyashita of Number (N)ine drew inspiration from a raft of iconic American sources. For example, Curt Cobain and Johnny Cash were cited as inspiration for a recent collection of grunge layered texture and print in black and white (that looked like 80s Japanese meets Boy George run through a plaid wringer). Miyashita returned to the Northwest for inspiration for his most recent sensational menswear show, and this time, it’s personal.

His Fall 08 show in Paris, “My Own Private Portland,” (hello Gus) opened with an Ace Hotel voicemail message, according to Ryan Bukstein at Ace Atelier. And Portland-made Pendleton wool blankets were folded on each seat at the show. You know these blankets, the same blankets found in the Ace’s rooms, with the Thompson elk (the statue at SW 4th and Main) motif. They’re now at Number (N)ine’s Manhattan flagship store, and soon they’ll be at the Ace’s forthcoming NYC outpost (why not Ace Portland?). According to Bukstein, “Ace and Number (N)ine are currently collaborating to create additional products which will be released this fall.”

Number (Nine) Fall 08 photo Marcio Madeira, via men.style.com

The image of the elk statue reminds of the time two Japanese students came into the NW Film Center a couple years back with some photos asking for directions. Through hit and miss translation it became clear they were basing a day-about-town searching out locations from Gus Van Sant movies.

Number (Nine) Fall 08 photo Marcio Madeira, via men.style.com

Like a visit to a vintage store without the narrow and boring specificity of grunge’s focus on the plaid shirt, Miyashita mined a thousand and one looks, including many American classics like distressed leather jackets, suede coats, letterman jackets, 70s cardigans, all layered wonderfully in mix-n-match glee with vests, zip-cards (suede-front cardigans are killer), and yes, plaid shirts but only in context of an assortment of print shirts. And every piece has been updated and detailed to make it completely contemporary. Fun oddities included dickies worn on the outside (remember the snoob, Adam Arnold?) and Hugh Hefner pajama pants worn with an otherwise street look. Just rolled out of bed and headed downstairs to Stumptown perhaps.

Stay tuned for more on future collaborations. See the whole collection here.