01LOOK AT A SACAI PIECE AND YOU CANNOT QUITE TELL WHERE ONE GARMENT
ENDS AND ANOTHER BEGINS. THAT IS THE POINT. CHITOSE ABE BUILT A
WHOLE HOUSE ON 'HYBRIDS', SPLICING A TRENCH INTO A BOMBER INTO A
KNIT UNTIL THEY BECOME ONE IMPOSSIBLE, SEAMLESS THING.
02SHE LEARNED IT IN THE HARDEST SCHOOL. BEFORE LAUNCHING SACAI IN
1999, ABE SPENT EIGHT YEARS AT COMME DES GARCONS, PATTERN-CUTTING
UNDER REI KAWAKUBO, THEN ON JUNYA WATANABE'S TEAM. SHE LEFT WITH
A DEGREE IN DECONSTRUCTION AND A PLAN OF HER OWN.
03THE TECHNIQUE IS DECEPTIVELY HARD. HYBRIDISATION IS NOT A PRINT OR A
PATCH; IT IS ENGINEERING. TWO FULL GARMENTS ARE CUT APART AND
REBUILT AS ONE THAT STILL HAS TO HANG, MOVE AND FASTEN. GET IT
WRONG AND IT IS A COSTUME. ABE GETS IT RIGHT, EVERY SEASON.
04IT IS INSTANTLY HERS, AND WICKEDLY HARD TO FAKE. PLENTY OF BRANDS
HAVE TRIED THE SPLICED LOOK; FEW MAKE IT WEARABLE OR BEAUTIFUL. THE
CRAFT LIVES IN THE PATTERN-CUTTING, THE PART YOU CANNOT SHORTCUT
WITH A MOOD BOARD OR A FACTORY RUN.
05AND SHE DID IT ON HER OWN TERMS. ABE HAS SCALED SACAI INTO A GLOBAL
BUSINESS WITHOUT TAKING A SINGLE OUTSIDE INVESTOR, KEEPING FULL
CREATIVE AND FINANCIAL CONTROL. WHEN GAULTIER LAUNCHED HIS GUEST-
COUTURE SERIES, ABE WAS THE FIRST NAME HE CHOSE.
06THAT IS WHY SHE MATTERS. IN AN INDUSTRY OF LOGOS AND LICENSES, ABE
BUILT DESIRE OUT OF PURE CONSTRUCTION, A TECHNIQUE SO PERSONAL IT
WORKS AS A SIGNATURE. NO LOGO NEEDED. YOU KNOW A SACAI ON SIGHT,
BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE CAN QUITE BUILD ONE.