Louis Vuitton, Lanvin, Yohji Yamamoto: A Country for Old Men?
@ 11:58 pm June 29, 2008Filed under: Paris, Runway Shows
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PARIS, Jun 29, 2008 / FW/ — In a youth obsessed industry, male and female baby boomers had lamented that no new fashion is being created for them; that if you go to the department stores, even specialty boutiques, the latest trends are meant of the 20- and 30-something age groups.
Thank goodness, for Louis Vuitton, Lanvin and Yohji Yamamoto who either by design or by accident have created something for this age group who has lots of disposable income.
Yohji Yamamoto
Instead of just hiring professional models, Yohji Yamamoto also used distinguished men (translate that to old men) in his Spring / Summer 2009 runway show presentation. He also used the equivalent of plus size for men, to emphasize the ‘men of all sizes and all ages’ concept of the collection.
So, for those young and hip baby boomers, the ones who when they were young said, ‘don’t trust anyone over 30’ are now saying ‘don’t trust anyone over 90’, the Yohji Yamamoto collection might just be the one your looking for. It’s high fashion without looking like you borrowed something from your son’s wardrobe.
Lanvin
Lucas Ossendrijver who designs the menswear collections for Lanvin proved that a collection could cater to as many age groups as the designer deem it. With attention to details like pin tucks, pleats and ruche, Ossendrijver’s looked classic yet fresh.
One of the challenges that menswear designers face as always is that the ‘classic’ men’s clothing are so familiar. With innovations in menswear very subtle, it takes a trained eye to see them in the past-paced 15-minute catwalk show. But not with Ossendrijver who used this 15-minutes into the fullest as he sent out trench coats, windbreakers and peacoats in leather, nylon or denim.
In short, it was a timeless and ageless collection. In fact, it is also ‘placeless’ as in it can be worn in the metropolis called Gotham, but will also be welcome in Dorothy’s Kansas.
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 Lanvin |
 Louis Vuitton |
Louis Vuitton
Charlie Chaplin might have inspired the collection, but it does not have the greatness that famous entertainer had. For a Louis Vuitton collection, this is actually very disappointing. It is as if Paul Helbers, the Artistic Director for Louis Vuitton menswear took a walk in San Francisco and stopped at the corporate headquarters of The Gap
The collection is not bad looking. In fact, it is very wearable and looks very comfortable. But, somehow, your eyes could not believe what it is seeing. This is Louis Vuitton, but it feels like you walked in at The Gap flagship store.
Armand Basi, Bernhard Wilhelm: Opposite Sides of the Spectrum
@ 11:56 pm June 29, 2008Filed under: Milan, Runway Shows
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PARIS, Jun 29, 2008 / FW/ — Armand Basi and Bernhard Wilhelm represent the opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to fashion. Armand Basi with his traditional cuts and classic suits and Bernhard Wilhelm who always pushes the envelope bordering on bizarre at times identify the wide range of creativity of designers showing in Paris.
Armand Basi
With his collection of minimalistic, cool toned suits and breezy tunic button-downs, Armand Basi’s Spring/Summer collection was relaxing and interesting. The modern lines of his suits accented the male figure, specifically his high waisted, cuffed shorts. Most uniquely, however, Basi dressed a man in a drop-waist, cinched dress. All of his ensembles were finished with a pair of brightly colored, specially made shoes. Lastly, a detail that is seen in other shows and seen as another trend this season - the double collar creating a faux layering effect.
Bernhard Wilhelm
This extremely bizarre collection for the Bernhard Wilhelm team was something we would only see in Paris. The pieces were all reflections of the Renaissance era with regal yet space age looking costumes. The color palette was rather feminine in greys and pinks, golds and blacks, lavender, silver, and taupe. T
he silhouettes were usually bottom heavy using highly bloussoned shorts with applied, modern cargo pockets in the back. We saw lots of layering over leggings of contrasting bold prints and waist cinching. Also, many of the looks were finished with tennis shoes, a modern juxtaposition against the strange Renaissance theme.
Bernhard Wilhelm did follow the trend of blurring the gender roles in fashion by dressing many of the models in very feminine looks with feathers and lace.
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 Armand Basi |
 Bernhard Wilhelm |
Masatomo, Juun J, Paul Smith: Rounding Up The Season
@ 9:36 pm June 29, 2008Filed under: Paris, Runway Shows
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PARIS, Jun 29, 2008 / FW/ — Final day of the Paris Menswear Spring 2009 season featured household names like Paul Smith, a respected designer with a cult following like Masatomo and an emerging designer who is fast becoming the latest darling of the Paris menswear scene, Juun J.
Masatomo
In this off schedule show at the prestigious Hotel Meurice on the Rue de Rivoli, Masatomo showed a collection of colored snakeskins and bold, red lacquer accessories.
The modern suits were all uniquely adorned with some kind of crystal zipper, crystal embroidery, or colored snakeskin detail. The leather jackets were unique in that they had a slit across the arm bearing skin underneath.
The beginning of the show as dominated by whites and greens, the occasional grey pinstripe suit. The beaded suits that finished the show were particularly detailed and contrasted the modern, sleek lines of his other suits.
Juun J.
Juun J’s inventive spring/summer collection was a much-needed breath of creativity for menswear. The unique pieces were tops that were constructed with one half as a vest and the other as a full jacket.
Also, several pants sweaters constructed into the waistband to create the effect of it being tied there, strategically showing the Juun J label as the model turned away. His trench coats with full sleeves on only one side or no sleeves at all were also very creative.
The layering effect was taken to the extreme here by creating the false impression of long sleeves over short sleeves and blazers over vests. The bottoms were all either slim cut capris or cuffed, pleated shorts.
Two particularly interesting pieces were the one piece, double breasted suit, and the plaid, ombré ensemble. Following trends we have seen this week, Juun J used exposed zippers on his leather jacket and cargo pockets on his breezy summer jacket.
 Juun J |
 Masatomo |
 Paul Smith |
Paul Smith
A slightly redundant show from Paul Smith showed us lots of pinstriped, plaid, and layered suits in summery linens. The “hippie goes to the Hamptons” look was definitely apparent in the light colors and tasseled loafers paired with rolled up denim and linen jackets. The atmosphere of the show was young and fun, and the pieces were all very marketable to the public.
Dior Homme: I’m Lovin’ It
@ 9:03 pm June 29, 2008Filed under: Paris, Runway Shows
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PARIS, Jun 29, 2008 / FW/ — This is my first Dior Homme show since Hedi Slimane left. Quite frankly, I miss Hedi, but I can also honestly say that the new direction Kris Van Assche is taking for Dior Homme is taking the label into an entirely new level.
I still remember the first time I ever saw Kris Van Assche, in his debut collection in Paris. His name was new on the list, but with KCD handling both front of house and back of house, I already figured he must be an important upcoming talent. I was right.
Though it was a debut collection for the Kris Van Assche label in the official Paris menswear calendar, all the important editors were there, with Suzy Menkes of IHT first on the list. The buzz around the young designer did not disappoint. To use the vernacular, Kris Van Assche had me at hello. I was an instant devoted fan.
When Hedi Slimane left Dior Homme, I was very sad for I truly like the guy. When LVMH announced in March 2007 that Kris Van Assche was Hedi’s replacement, my first thought was that it was a logical choice. But, when I was not invited to his debut collection at Dior Homme (June 2007), I felt left out.
I continued to support Kris Van Assche by attending his shows for his eponymous label. I figured that I will be invited again soon at Dior Homme. Hence, when I received the Dior Homme invitation for this season, I knew that my patience paid off.
First thing I noticed was the ‘magical’ venue. It was as if I step into the set of ‘The Chronicles of Narja’ but real and more grown up. As I passed through antique telescopes and sepia toned photos at the Paris Observatory, my first thought was ‘how poetic!’ Dior Homme, the epitome of urban cool now has the heart of a poet named Kris Van Assche.
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The clothes have changed also. From Hedi Slimane’s pencil thin silhouettes, Kris Van Assche is now adding volume to the still predominantly slim shapes. Black is still the dominant color, but there is the metallic fuchsia blouson, metallic brown tuxedo jacket, and golden raincoat in nylon.
It’s still the ‘man about town,’ or should we say ‘guy about town’ because the collection is meant for the 20-something generation who knows the hottest clubs in town. And the rappers could not out-bling him either; just that, instead of wearing it on his neck, the bling are on his pants, making one ask, is there a sexual connotation to that?
The must-have item in the collection – the laser cut-out shirt and / or leather biker jacket. Those are already collector’s items the moment they came out of the runway.
And oh, for those who are big music fans, the background music was a mix of songs by French singing duo Justice.
Raf Simons, John Galliano, Givenchy: The New Men’s Silhouettes?
@ 8:01 am June 29, 2008Filed under: General
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PARIS, Jun 29, 2008 / FW/ — Has the new men’s silhouette that we have been waiting for arrived but we were too busy to notice it? As fashion followers, are we so entrenched in the forest that we have stopped seeing the trees? Did Raf Simons, John Galliano and Riccardo Tisci at Givenchy just give us what would be the ‘new look’ for men in the next decade?
Raf Simons
Known for his sharp tailoring from the beginning of his career, Raf Simons literally deconstructed and reconstructed the tuxedo. Slicing away the sleeves and the collar; in fact anything he could think of, the Belgian designer then morphed it into a pair of shorts, a sleeveless tunic and sleeveless / collarless long jacket in degradé black to white.
The look is stark and streamlined, that bordered on futuristic; yet it is something wearable and quite frankly, something that even the mainstream male fashion aficionados would find more than just interesting.
Because although the look is masculine, Raf Simons added embroidery which surprisingly was very manly! Though embroidery had always been associated with the delicateness of womenswear, especially in haute couture, Raf Simons reworked this element by densely packing them, thus creating this ‘tough exterior’ hence ‘manly.’
 Raf Simons |
 John Galliano |
 Givenchy |
John Galliano
A John Galliano show is always a fashion event, with the British designer’s famous penchant for a treasure hunt. As fashion observers, we have to find the ‘treasure’ in several layers of clothing and accessories worn by one model.
But, this is the 21st century, the digital age, with both the current and upcoming market well versed with video games that usually feature several races all at one time wearing different costumes, and sometimes even speaking the same language that part of the game is being able to learn another language.
So perhaps, John Galliano has always been the standard bearer of the new generation; his colorful creations seen on the runway has been the inspiration for video game creators costume designers.
The ‘stuffy set’ might find John Galliano outrageous, but the youthful generation who actually spend thousands of dollars to create their ‘costume’ for cosplay (short of costume play wherein real people attends conventions wearing costumes from role-playing-games) has a friend with John Galliano. But since they actually live in different universes, they have not found each other yet.
Givenchy
For Riccardo Tisci’s ‘debut’ menswear collection for Givenchy, the Italian designer went back to his eponymous label famous for Gothicism to create an austere, even severe collection that although very intellectually engaging might have lost both markets that it is catering to.
If Tisci was thinking of the traditional Givenchy clientele, this collection might be too fashion forward to them. Yet, if he was thinking of the hip Goth kids, then these cult followers would find the collection ‘too corporate’ looking.
But, everything is not lost. The Riccardo Tisci we all love has surfaced and somehow, we know that he has great things in store for us in the future.