Can we safely say it was a pandemonium when Paris unveiled last week the Spring/Summer collections for menswear? Flying testosterone and flexing masculine muscles seemed more fitting to an eventful week with showings dominated of course by the Italian companies with the annual luxurious inclusion of Dries Van Noten, Lanvin, Raf Simons and Ann Demeulemeester. Stylistic, boyish and immature looks welcomed a new season of menswear marketability. One image that could have summed up the week is sucking too long on a gobbestopper leaving you sweet-sour dead for more or being gobesmacked by the extraordinary sight seeing your triple layer mango passion fruit ice cream from the delights of Darrell Lea melting away at your fingers tips with the asphalt ground licking the sweet surface. Bang out the door was for any real sensible normality and Paris Fashion Week for men was a cross-pollination of an ubiquitous appearance with pinstripe and loose fitting blousons, diagonal shape pattern prints and front graphics pushing the men’s wardrobe for this season as relaxed as being on a cruise yacht or hazing the summer day’s as an Italian stallion. Lanvin menswear always outdo themselves giving the man of being cool and relaxed - jelly sandals that have been seen made for women by Chanel with short denim pants, double-breasted jackets, loose fitting caramel trousers with the added parka coats and long sleeves trench coats. There was a strong drive for pleating and giving the loose trousers and shirts elasticity rather than being too streamlined or stovepipe. A contrasting multi-layering effect which gave the clothes a vibrant exterior texture and dexterity and a mode for capturing a decadent movement.
It was trying to subvert the formality in structure of a tuxedo suit in Raf Simon’s direction with the v-shaped buttoned jacket, half-tone block colours with toned black trousers. He severely cut down the details of the suit that of which became a tunic or a cloak with trimmed down short pants in turn giving the appearance of a very high crotch. Vest coat shirts were accompanied by tweed jackets and slightly rigid breasted jackets that followed from his work for Jil Sander womenswear a few weeks ago. Ann Demeulemeester seemed to have gone back to her roots by reinventing Flemish countryside wear. It was however centered around German-Swiss writer Herman Heese whereby in 1943 completed his novel titled ‘The Glass Bead Game’. The scholarly novel was a human mind’s pursuit of spiritual intellect and understanding within a futuristic realm set in the 25th century reserved for the Intelligentsia. The description of this game from Wikipedia says:
‘At the center of the monastic order lies the (fictitious) Glass Bead Game, whose exact nature remains elusive. The precise rules of the game are only alluded to, and are so sophisticated that they are not easy to imagine. Suffice it to say that playing the Game well requires years of hard study of music, mathematics, and cultural history. Essentially the Game is an abstract synthesis of all arts and scholarship. It proceeds by players making deep connections between seemingly unrelated topics. For example, a Bach concerto may be related to a mathematical formula.’
It seems Ann’s clothes tries to communicate our youth even in our old age wants to seek possibly the elixir of life to live longer in order to seek life’s biggest problems. Pieces in the collection remain respectful and dark in the double breasted jackets and long cloaks, black dot printed slouchy trousers, white blouse shirts and folded striped pants. Very precocious. Dries Van Noten, his signature note as regularly working with flora delivered an American 1950’s suiting collection. Round cut collars, perfectly cut cuffs - the blazer jackets are much broader in the chest, metallic textured peacoats and Art Nouveau sleeved tunics were featured.
Here are some other highlights from Paris Fashion Week for men:
Ann Demeulemeester
Dries Van Noten (right)
Jil Sander
Raf Simons (right)
Yves Saint Laurent
While the hustle and bustle of the individual collection for the Parisian and international elite faithful were quite happily sitting in the schedule runways, to gain the full picture of what the city has to offer is to also know the trade fair shows happening all over in different districts. Two of the standout events, Rendez-vous Paris and Tranoi capture the attention of all international designers in grabbing the opportunity to secure new buyers and sales. Tranoi being more prominent than the former is run by Michael Hadida, apart of the family who also manage the boutiques of L’Eclaireur in Paris housing the rich faces of Lanvin, Balenciaga for Men, Ann Demeulemeester and Rick Owens. Annually, a considerable amount of men’s and women’s labels converge for men’s later this month.
Richard Nicoll, Spring/Summer 2009 (pre-collection)
Richard Nicoll showed earlier this month in Paris for his Spring/Summer 2009 with previous showings in New York and his hometown of London. Beautifully cut men’s shirting created a fusion for deep enriching colours of orange, pink, prussian blue and metallic red created the condensation of spring and summer. Knee length dresses in light woven silk with shoulder ruffles, double layer shirt dress with inner transparency - a deep pink dress cloak, long sleeve collar shirt with matching silk waist trousers beckoned a symmetrical tone. Importantly, the collection remains structured with the high strung waist belts and double layering constitutes the self-empowerment Richard has always strived for. He doesn’t design for a muse in mind or in fact an ideal woman but the colour block prints could allude to the sexual identity of women giving a masculine effect of control.
Hey, women do have a small percentage of testosterone (please also see Nick Earls’ 48 Shades Of Grey). Fellow Australian Josh Goot predominantly uses the palette in mind but his clothes are more feminine and quite loose. From a textile technical point of view, the colours have been beautifully produced and he may have possibly use a dying process like Shibori which gives it a tonal surface.
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Paris Fashion Week, Photography by Marcio Madeira for Style.com
Richard Nicoll, Spring/Summer 2009 - Photography by Richard Nicoll
