We arrive in the final destination on our round up of the male Fashion weeks for Autumn/Winter 2015. Bonjour Paris and we start the proceedings off with a brand not short on that certain Je ne said quoi, yes Louis Vuitton and what a way to start. Kim Jones just seems to be going from strength to strength during his tenure with the Luxury Power house. He drew his inspiration this season, on a personal hero, in the shape of British Designer Christopher Nemeth who was relatively unknown outside of Japan. He interpreted four of Nemeth’s signature prints and at the same time managed to work them expertly into the Vuitton aesthetic, that only he could have achieved to such a high level. Once again leaving everyone, a baited for next season to see what magic he may conjure.
Next up, onto a designer who left me agog with the beauty of his collection, Junya Watanabe, who based the look of his Autumn/Winter 2015 collection on the sub culture of the ‘sappers’ the nattily dressed gentlemen from the Congo. Think, those immaculately dressed dandies of 1930’s Harlem in their Sunday Best fit for Church and an audience with God himself. Nonetheless, this was no retro obsessed collection, this was modernity personified.
Then to Riccardo Tisci’s Givenchy, we saw a departure from the sweatshirts and Tees which have made the Fashion brand such a favourite of the likes of Professor Green through to Kanye West in recent years and a move towards the formal roots of the Parisian house. However, this was a dark and eerie at time unnerving presentation by Tisci and the Devil was literally in the detail.
Madison Kitsune
Paul & Joe
Ami may not have the heritage of some of the other players on the Paris schedule but it nonetheless delivers and leaves you wanting to run backstage and put an order in with them there and then, not having to wait 6 or so months before it hits the stores and websites. It offers impeccably desirable clothes that you just want. Another French brand able to entice us with such wearable and interesting ranges is Carven offering up a more boxy and sculpted silhouette this season. Relative new comers are Maison Kitsune the duo of Masaya Kuroki and Gildas Loaec, think of this like a pseudoFrench Alban, where they leave you wanting literally every piece from the collection from suiting to Tote bag. The thing all these brands have in common is their comforting lack of avant garde, there is no danger you may need the lookbook just to know have to wear an outfit from these brands but you can rest assure you still know, you look the bis when wearing their wares. This is the same with Paul & Joe, this is not a tricksy brand, where from season to season you’re not quite sure what you might see or get from them. This is a true bastion of wearable apparel.
Kris Van Assche for Dior Homme, seemed to run his show in reverse this season opting to start the presentation with formal attire in tuxedos in various forms then moving between smart and smart casual throughout. Mixing that juxtaposition of high formal then throwing in denim, a baseball cap, trainers or maybe even all three, just because he can.
Next we have the Luxury house of Luxury Houses, Hermes offering a Masterclass in the modern male’s wardrobe and what it SHOULD contain for every possible eventuality, whether that be a business meeting or what to wear for that all important down time, Veronique Nichanian had it covered to a tee, T-shirt that is.
Like Hermes, Alber Elbaz over at Lanvin did his take on what a the contemporary man needs for his functional wardrobe. He divided it into uniform sections which included, pinstripes, tweeds in grey, country plaids, army coats and military jackets.
Penultimately, we have Sir Paul Smith flying the flag for British Sartorialism on the continent. Like so many brands this season he too has adopted the maxim of Orange is the new Black or maybe he’s been watching too much Netflix, either way we have seen everyone from Christopher Raeburn to Missoni, Moschino and Vivienne Westwood all take on the sunshine hue. Smith looked back to move forward this season and saught his design team to plunder his archive of decades of hoarding.
Finally we have Umit Benan who like Pablo Copolla for Bally seems to have been inspired by the films of Wes Anderson. Rather than the The Royal Tenenbaums, Benan appears to have emmerised himself in ‘The Life aquatic’ as whether is was fishing rods or bucket hats his models possessed some element of fishing paraphernalia. But at no time did Umit collection veer to the realms of silliness or gimmick.
What a hard act to follow and talk about going to the other end of the Style spectrum, next up is Jil Sander, debuting Rodolfo Paglialunga first menswear collection for the label, his voluminous trousers might not have been everyone’s cup of cappuccino, but there is no disputing his mastery in Outerwear and offering a coat to suit everyman.
Onto an award winning American designer in Michael Bastian choosing to show his signature collection in Milan, which was quintessentially US Preppy Chic at its best. One could almost say a rival in the court of Ralph Lauren himself.
Next up a fellow Yank, more known for his Rock Star edge then Ivy League, John Varvatos channelled his inner Doris Stokes to summon up incarnations of Bob Dylan. This was a sterling collection for Varvatos offering a highly wearable but in no way boring look in a completely autumnal, sorry Fall like, colour palette.
Onwards to Bally then and WOW! Designer Pablo Coppola, looked to one of my favourite films for inspiration in Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums” and did not disappoint. Far from being a literally take on the film, not one headband in sight, OK the occasional tennis shoes, Coppola used this reference as a starting block for his collection and then built upon it, in a truly LUXE manner.
As sure as the Italians love Pasta, so to do Dolce & Gabbana love dipping into Italian culture for reference points. Last season it was the Spanish influence on Sicily, which for them was pretty damn loose, but this season the duo drank long and hard from the cup of vino and focused their attention on Il Famiglia. From the Holy Family to the traditional portrait of an extended Italian Family with Mama and Papa.
Flying the flag for the British contingent is the grand Dame herself Vivienne Westwood, who took a rather unusual muse, for her punk heritage ways, in the shape of HRH The Prince of Wales. The show started off rather tamely enough, in what could be described as Westwood’s take on Savile Row Tailoring and how in her mind she would probably dress Prince Charles if he was a regular customer of the Queen of Punk. However as the show developed, it became less the Princely figure we all know and more a character in Dame Viv’s reality of the world, including this brilliant suit complete in Pound note print. Gawd Bless her !
And from Viv we pass the mantle onto Italy’s very own Grand Dame, Miuccia Prada, who I never knew was a fan of the early 90’s Manchester Music scene as her male models looked highly reminiscent of Bez, Ian Brown, even an Ian Curtis for good measure was present. Like the fashions of this time where we saw lads and lassies wearing a unisex uniform, Prada showed not only her Menswear collection but her Womans Pre-Fall together. No not a pair of Joe Blogs Flares or tie dyed hooded top in sight but reference aplenty to Prada’s Nylon period of the 90’s.
Lastly, we have Marc Jacobs, no longer preoccupied with his Louis Vuitton duties, Jacobs can now plough all his energies into his own brand and for this Autumn/Winter 15 and he was very much in a dress down Friday sorta mood. For this season, even in the most formal of look he managed to give them a casual feel the most moody of teenagers would be proud of.
