Lifestyle
Junya Watanabe Brings Back the Lumber Sexual at Paris Fashion Week Menswear Show
I had washed up in Brooklyn, circa 2009.
Physically, I was in Paris, sitting at the Junya Watanabe fashion show. But spiritually? Oh boy, I was in Williamsburg in the Obama era.
It was the models in their husky Filson jackets, the buffalo checks, the tan cloth bags, the mondo hiking boots and the dark-wash cuffed jeans.
But most of all, it was the feathered-out mountain man beards. I could practically smell the beard oil. I might as well have been getting my haircut at an $80 barbershop on Driggs Avenue while listening to Arcade Fire and drinking an I.P.A. The lumber sexual, folks, is back.
At least in Mr. Watanabe’s hands. The designer, part of the Comme des Garçons extended universe, is a singular force. Thus far in Paris, he is the only designer plumbing our recent hipstery past for inspiration.
Still, it was more than a little disorienting to see the ghosts of the aughts heritage movement — a wave that sent urban-bound men wild for good ol’ outdoorsy essentials like raw denim, Barbour coats and Filson cruiser jackets — revisiting us so soon. Were it 15 years ago, this collection would have received wall-to-wall coverage on “#menswear” blogs like A Continuous Lean. Fashion trends cycle around fast, but really? This fast?
Backstage, Mr. Watanabe dumped some cold Pacific Northwest water on this notion. Yes, he was familiar with the heritage wave that reared up in America two decades ago. There was a similar movement in Japan, he said through a translator.
But that was “not related to this” show.
Rather, Mr. Watanabe said, this collection was a meditation on how much he revered the four-pocket Filson Mackinaw Cruiser, a hip-length coat that was originally patented by the American outfitter in 1914.
He was, he said, “sharing the classic, good old workwear with Filson,” with whom he partnered on the collection.
Sharing, yes. But also reimagining. Each model in the 41-look show wore some twisted conceptualization of a Mackinaw. They came reconstructed, deconstructed, lengthened to a parka, Frankensteined to a shearling, shaved into a blazer-type thing, given a pumpkin orange back panel and worn over another Mackinaw. All that was missing was a Mackinaw mutated into a jumpsuit.
This being a utilitarian design associated with lumberjacks and hunters, it was possible to wonder if Mr. Watanabe was making a grand statement about returning to nature in the face of artificial intelligence onslaughts and the tech oligarchs conquering the world? After all, the first heritage movement came as an answer to the online start-up boom, when men began to crave something analog, something they could feel with their hands, something they could treat like a tool.
Backstage, though, Mr. Watanabe was not in the mood to wheat paste grand ideas onto this collection. The Filson jacket “exists for a long time,” he said, squelching further questions about this temporal trend or that.
Still, near the conclusion of the show, the words “I see a change on the rise” came through on the soundtrack. To my eyes, it was not a change that Mr. Watanabe was offering, but a return, for on Friday morning, the heritage hipster could once again be spotted coming over the horizon.
On-air challenge
Every answer is a familiar two-word phrase or name in which the first two letters of each word are the same state postal abbreviation. (Ex. Colorado — everyday ailment there’s no cure for — COmmon COld)
1. Florida — sudden rush of water down a streambed
2. Wisconsin — aid in seeing the road when it rains
3. Louisiana — deep-blue gem with a Latin name
4. California — Christmas tree decoration you can eat
5. Pennsylvania — tricky thing to learn to do with a car
6. Indiana — something a stockbroker is not allowed to share
7. Alabama — star of “M*A*S*H”
8. Massachusetts — female disciple who anointed the feet of Jesus
9. Maine — tribal doctors
10. Delaware — event in which vehicles go around a track crashing into each other
11. Georgia — part of the dashboard that measures from full to empty
12. Washington — city in Washington
Last week’s challenge
Last week’s challenge came from Andrew Chaikin, of San Francisco. Name a popular automobile import — make + model. Add the letter V and anagram the result. You’ll name a popular ethnic food. What names are these?
Challenge answer
Kia Soul + V = Souvlaki
Winner
stuff
This week’s challenge
Here’s a funny challenge from Mark Scott, of Seattle. Think of a famous actress — first and last names. Interchange the first and last letters of those names. That is, move the first letter of the first name to the start of the last name, and the first letter of the last name to the start of the first name. Say the result out loud, and you’ll get some advice on fermenting milk. What is it?
If you know the answer to the challenge, submit it below by Thursday, November 13 at 3 p.m. ET. Listeners whose answers are selected win a chance to play the on-air puzzle.
Rapper Max B
I’m Free!!!
Released from Prison After 16 Years
Published
Harlem rapper Max B is officially a free man … walking out of prison after more than a decade behind bars.
The “Wavy Crockett” rapper was originally sentenced to 75 years in 2009 for his alleged role in a botched New Jersey robbery that turned deadly. But Max’s conviction was later overturned, and in 2016, he struck a plea deal for aggravated manslaughter, drastically reducing his time.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
Max teased his release earlier this year, calling into The Joe Budden Podcast to say, “We got a date! I’ve got November 9, 2025, baby!”
His longtime friend and collaborator French Montana confirmed the news on Instagram Sunday, posting a celebratory message … “CANT MAKE THIS UP ! MY BROTHER REALLY CAME HOME ON MY B DAY ! HAMDULILLAH 🤲🏼
WALKED IT DOWN ! NO MORE FREE YOU 🌊 🌊 🌊”
Instagram/@frenchmontana
Max B’s “wave” sound influenced everyone from ASAP Mob to Wiz Khalifa, and his name’s been shouted out in tracks by Kanye West, Drake, and The Weeknd.
Chef Roy Choi speaks on stage in Beverly Hills, California
Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images
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This week’s show was recorded in Orange County with host Peter Sagal, guest judge and scorekeeper Alzo Slade, Not My Job guest Roy Choi and panelists Karen Chee, Negin Farsad, and Tom Papa. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.
Who’s Alzo This Time
New York’s Feeling Blue; Junk Food Goes Posh; A Housekeeper with a Catch
Panel Questions
Guess The Louvre’s Passworduess the Louvre’s Password
Bluff The Listener
Our panelists tell three stories about jobs of the future, only one of which is true.
Not My Job: Chef, author, and food truck revolutionary Roy Choi answers our questions about other types of trucks
Chef Roy Choi, famous for revolutionizing food trucks, plays our game called, “Food Trucks? Meet these new trucks!” Three questions about different kinds of trucks.
Panel Questions
The GOAT and The Pup; Sweet Pettiness Rewarded
Limericks
Alzo Slade reads three news-related limericks: An Extra Dill Sandwich; Cookies to Be Thankful For; Get Your Lids Straight!
Lightning Fill In The Blank
All the news we couldn’t fit anywhere else
Predictions
Our panelists predict, now that they’ve started selling junk food, what will be the next big change at Whole Foods.
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