Hard to believe spring is just around the corner, what with the endless snow and slush here in Toronto. Fortunately for us warm-weather-deprived northerners, Junya Watanabe has designed a spring/summer menswear collection ideal for frosty March mornings and moody April afternoons, preferably spent hiking and fishing at a cottage up north. 

If you're unfamiliar, Junya Watanabe is a Japanese fashion designer who got his start as the protégé of Comme des Garçons founder (and avant garde fashion luminary), Rei Kawakubo, Under Kawakubo's tutelage, Watanabe developed a design ethos centred around modern silhouettes, futuristic textiles, and maximum functionality and started his own line for Comme des Garçons in 1993. 

Using the great outdoors as the inspiration for his spring menswear collection, Watanabe incorporates Paraffin waxed textiles and Italian-made Duvetica down for extra durability in the collections's jackets and vests, while utilizing classic hunting silhouettes in the design of the pieces.

The Cotton Ester Check Buckle Back Short Ankle Pants, aside from being a mouthful, is representative of the collection as a whole. Charmingly collegiate and earnestly outdoorsy, the blue checkered pants are cut at the ankles and finished off with functional rear buckle cinch, allowing for maximum pond-wading ease. The relaxed fit makes adventuring a cinch, and the print looks super chill paired with a waffle knit and dessert boots.

$555. Available online and in-store at Haven, 145 Berkeley Street