Paris Fashion Week is the last leg of Europe’s fashion parade and this season it was populated with as many as 56 designers holding a runway presentation. In a phase where several brands are folding their men’s showcase entirely, in favour of going co-ed, this (56) was really a good number.
There were celebrated designers such as Lanvin, Balmain, Alexander McQueen and Kenzo, among others decorating the brilliant line-up. A clear bent on ‘commercial simplicity’ in both the garments and show formats was undoubtedly the main direction here. It showed the maturity of the talent in the French capital, which was a class in ‘less is more’.
At Christian Dior Homme, designed by Kris Van Assche, the clothes were very body-conscious and it was obvious that rebellion against the hyper-loose aesthetic of street wear was on Van Assche’s mind. The collection could be described as civic and almost corporate in its outlook.
Rei Kawakubo invoked a similar feeling at Comme des Garcons Homme Plus where practicality came as a surprise from a designer known for her architectural silhouettes. Save for the dinosaur headgear, the ‘white shock, the punk inside’ collection was filled with relaxed but not oversized outerwear and even her superhero comic strip prints looked highly wearable.
The aesthetic in the city offered no frills and focussed on inspirational tailoring to make clothes that impressed without any superfluous razzle-dazzle. The creativity was not as ‘in your face’ as it was in London and neither was the luxuriousness as overt as it is in Milan or Florence.
However, the ‘athluxury meets street wear’ lassitude was not wasted on French fashion designers either. The sportswear roar could be felt far and wide at the bigger youth-centric shows like Issey Miyake, Junya Watanabe and Y/Project. Everything from reversible rain gear and synthetic outerwear to bi-material coats and updated Harrington jackets was on display.
Kim Jones presented his final collection for Louis Vuitton Men’s with industry veterans Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss taking the final bow with him. Jones brought back relevance and instituted accessibility to luxury powerhouse Louis Vuitton’s younger clientele with his Supreme collaboration last year. Naturally, his farewell show was both personal and very visionary for the future of the brand. Every garment had elevated functionality, details like taped seams and zippers and detachable linings decorated the anti-oversize collection that even included patterned tights.
Conversely, at Maison Margiela, where Galliano presented his first menswear collection as Creative Director, frayed hems completed boxy shoulders on a plethora of Mackintoshes. Double-breasted two-piece suits in metallic blue and other powerful shades of red, orange and yellow completed an impressive debut streak.
Classic tailoring and a return to more fitted fashion for the boys was a strong message in Paris. The outerwear silhouette is still very relaxed with shearling, synthetic or patent leather overcoats seen at every other show.
Performance fabrics and functionality as well as nods to street wear with detailing like large squared out pockets, contrast topstitching, reflective patches/taping and hoodies were trending through and through.
In Paris, it was clear that the designers are well-equipped for the inevitable evolution of both middle-aged millennials and their younger cohort Generation Z. Last season’s styling mantra of track pants with suit jackets and an oversized scarf is definitely on the outs in this fashion capital.
