Cult Of Personality

Sacai’s Chitose Abe has won the respect of the fashion world, and the adulation of real women, with her unconventional takes on classics— from peacoats to Lacoste polos. Haley Mlotek joins the sisterhood

- Haley Mlotek

What does it feel like to wear a Sacai jacket? Well, to answer that question with another question: Which part? On a recent Saturday afternoon, I browsed the Sacai section at the department store of avant-garde dreams, Dover Street Market in Manhattan, where I threw on the peacoat-and-bomber-jacket combo from the label’s fall 2017 collection. This is no simple piece of outerwear, but two jackets in one. The bomber acts as the lining to a classic navy peacoat, its shearling hood bisected by a zipper so that when undone, it lies like a stole across the shoulders. On the inside, the jacket feels warm but light, the elegant construction belying the weight of the combined layers; on the outside, it’s the perfect item for a woman who hates to have to choose. The bomber evolved from jackets worn by military pilots in World War II; today it’s a streetwear staple. The peacoat, too, is associated with British naval officers and has become a standby of cold-weather dressing. Sacai’s jacket has everything at once: the sky and the sea, the historical and the contemporary; it is truly timeless, referencing legacies while being entirely of this moment.