On an otherwise gloomy Tuesday in Paris, Junya Watanable let the sun shine in on his spring show. He lifted last season’s beautiful melancholy with artificial sunlight and a chirping bird soundtrack, set in Africa. Watanabe is a designer who can have a dramatic mood swing without an identity crisis, and so, while the colorful tribal prints were a foreign affair, the asymmetrical twists and turns, buoyant bunches and artful gathers were familiar territory. They came in cheerful baby dolls with braided smocking details, slim shirts and stretch stocking dresses worn over gingham fishtail skirts. Topped off with turbans fashioned from similar fabrics and spewing dried wildflowers, Watanabe’s woman was an exuberant and avant earth mother, who dressed down in denim that was a far cry from 501 blues. His faded jean jackets and skirts were expertly sewn every which way and fused to cotton swatches for a mostly hippie-chic look. Although, some mermaid skirts slung low on the hips to reveal animal print thongs and matching belts seemed a jab at flash/trash fashion. Whatever his message, Watanabe saved some of the best for last. Natural linens and ultra white eyelet sewn up into stark shirting, spills of skirts, darling apron dresses that hung off of plain white Ts, and cut-up trench coats so crisp and clean, they made you want to go home and do your laundry.