Issey Miyake puts a small on our face with its autumn/winter collection. Exclusive backstage photos.

Ah, the French. Famously aloof and dour, right? Well, today’s Issey Miyake show could put a smile on even the most implacable Parisian. Out went the restrained colour palette of previous seasons; and in came a zesty, technicolour landscape of greens, pink and blues. And if that wasn’t enough to shake you out of the grey-skied gloom of the past few days, a quartet of electronic musicians jamming in the background and producing a kind of Scottish bagpipe funk was enough to get you smiling. The models weren’t unaffected, either – they trooped down the runway wearing big, sunny grins (or, as a sign backstage advised, “TRUE SMILES”).

The show notes claimed the collection was inspired by “an ever changing mosaic of vibrantly coloured flower meadows, fields of golden wheat, the dark green of forests, the reflections of deep mirrored lakes, creating moving chequered patterns” – but this wasn’t a meditative nature-themed collection. Think a highland rave warrior.

The traditionally stoic colours of tartan and plaids were swapped for a pixellated palette, livening up androgynous suit-and-trouser combos and oversized coats. So a voluminous double-breasted coat would be treated to an electrifying dose of

colour-blocked plaid, paired with Chelsea boots with rubberized soles – just to drive home the entire techno-Scot theme. Pick us up outside the M25 for the next rave, yeah?

Words: Zing Tsjeng
Images: Mark Rabadan