Paris Fashion Week 2013: Junya Watanabe’s sneaker creatures

PARIS -- Seeing Junya Watanabe’s spring-summer 2013 collection during Paris Fashion Week on Saturday, I was reminded of watching the London Summer Olympics, and how obsessed I became with the athletes’ high-impact performance wear and neon running shoes.

Watanabe must have been watching, too. He teamed up with Puma, tapping the athletic wear giant for fabrics for this collection.

PHOTOS: Paris Fashion Week trends

The look: Built for speed from the street to the gym. Nylon and polyester mesh treated as if they were fine silk and satin, with great attention to tailoring and design details. Graphic color-block nylon and mesh ponchos, leggings and zip-front mini dresses. Free-floating nylon and mesh tops reminiscent of sports jerseys with multiple straps and flyaway fronts. Nylon wind breakers with several vertical zippers revealing slices of color.

Bright color combos (tangerine and yellow, lime and black, cobalt and black) except for a few subdued pieces in black and white, including contoured mesh tops and tailored blazers with mesh insets. Every look was worn with sneakers. The models’ silver spiked metal wigs added a street edge.

The verdict: Fresh and visually arresting. It is always fun to see Watanabe riff on a theme. And really, we probably spend more time in workout clothes than almost anything else. If only they could all look this good.

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