Givenchy Catwalk Fashion Show Paris ss2012

Again Riccardo Tisci was inro prints. After the dogs, the pin-ups and black panthers of this winter, he presented a new view on the Hawaian print in his ss2012 collection for Givenchy. And in a season where the Versace-esque print is making a come back it didn’t look weird at all. Actually, it looked beautiful in a streetwise way. His kaleidoscopic arrangements of bird-of-paradise flowers reminded us of eighties Miami as did the sweet colors with a contrasting role for green.

It certainly will find his way to the copycats, since the print appeared on everything from suits to sweatshirts, basketball jerseys and Bermudas. He also continued to push his favorite mix of XL sportswear with kilts, mostly in all white.

Junya Watanabe Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

Junya Watanabe presented a very simple collection focused at dungarees. They came in all kinds of fabrics and prints, from tough denim tot cotton checks or tartan fabrics. And they were often worn with rugged boots or rubber boots. The result was a country-inspired collection, which also explained the setting in a garden in Paris.

It was another, different way of exploring workwear, a theme Watanabe likes to work at and which still gives him new inspiration after all that time. This time the looks echoed both the American and European outdoors, but it were the tailored jackets and shirts that gave it a certain edge.

Walter van Beirendonck Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

It was a very sweet and tailored collection Walter van Beirendonck presented today. The jackets, shirts and pants had all a suburban dad-twist and tribal touches – though there is always a message underneath the clothes. On shredded T-shirts it said “Dream the World. Awake. Well, he surely got our attention!

And he will after the summer, when his first large scale retrospective will open at the Antwerp Fashion Museum in september.

Dries van Noten Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

The overall theme of Dries van Noten’s ss2012 collection seemed water. Not only because the clothes referred to rain and protection from water (coats, jackets, pants) also because almost everything was waterproof.

What the designer  really had in mind were the clothes men wear for outdoor pursuits like fishing, riding, and hunting.  Following his  elegant, decadent fall-collection, Van Noten chose once more for the dark side: midnight blue and burgundy with shots of brights. That contrast came also back in other ways: structure vs softness, real vs synthetic, tradition vs technology.

The clothes had a shiny surface, thanks to the nylon, silk and wool-polyester which all have a different way of gleaming. It gave the collection a modern yet rich touch.

Louis Vuitton Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

Expectations were high, now Kim Jones has taken over at Louis Vuitton menswear. But until now the shift didn’t bring any news. Where Paul Helbers tried to bring something new, edgy and different into the collection, Jones brought his vision on classics with a twist. But we’ve seen that before. The result was handsome, sure-handed and vivid, but also played safe. A bit seventies and sixties, Ivy League and preppy sportswear and that meant crisp college looks, ranger and safari clothes, massai checks and midnight blue dinner suits. For the hyper luxury clientele Kim Jones offers varsity jackets fronted with waxed alligator, and neckties shot with 24-karat gold thread.

But the bags were the message. And the shoes… well the shoes. Let’s not spend a word on those.

 

Rick Owens Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

If I were a monk, I would want to wear the dresses Rick Owens designs for men. For example those long, strict, minimal dresses he presented today in Paris. Again Rick Owens stayed faithful to  his monastic aesthetic. His urban monks were dressed in linen-blend skirts and even sleeveless gowns. Although it seems it’s only for  his  cult followers. What was left for people with a daily job, were the jackets, either cut short in washed cottons, their buttoned cuffs splaying open, or elongated and aerodynamic.

Viktor & Rolf Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

That was surely a sexy, sensual man Viktor & Rolf presented this morning in Paris. Their ss2012-collection reminded a bit of Richard Gere in an America Gigolo and John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever. Those references were not in the clothes but in the atmosphere and the sultry yet soft attitude that surrounded them.

Viktor & Rolf went explored the vibrant mid -70’s and found inspiration in the liberation and happiness that added a relaxed and fresh attitude to the sartorial and eccentric Monsieur dresser.

“This Spring/Summer 2012 Monsieur reflects a new age mood”, the Dutch designers explained.  ” He remains the same creative man – the sexy intellect – whose wardrobe is an authentic mix of formal and informal.  Our Monsieur is on a mystical and spiritual journey and is attracted to magical symbols and serene shades.  He’s investigating boundaries, but within his own world.”

The carefree effortlessness was reflected in lean silhouettes, playful patterns and unexpected mix of modern materials such as cupro or nylon-twill contrasting fine suede or delicate knits creating a vintage appearance. The colour palette was a playful mélange of shades of ivory, khaki, mustard yellow, and terracotta induced by radiant blue. The Dolphin, one of the classic symbols of the New age wave is a recurring pattern in the collection and applied in various treatments such as suiting interiors in jacquard, as tailored panelling, as prints for shirting, jerseys and sweats.

Mugler Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

For his Mugler ss2012-collection Nicola Formichetti was inspired by a lot of stuff:  the storytellers of Italian cinema, Fellini and Pasolini; Japanese comics;  Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber; sport; Greek mythology. So Greek gods, muscled boys, and tattooed punks all appeared on the runway often spattered in glitter.

Despite all the show, the collection does have salable items: stonewashed skinny jeans, pleated shorts, T-shirts, swimwear. There was also a huge role for the color green, in the clothes as in the lightning – which represented the blood of the digital era, according to Formichetti.  This sounds really like Thierry Mugler.

Alexander McQueen Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2012

You need a true British designer to add some rock ‘n roll to the Milan menswear Fashion Week. After days of decent suits, sportswear and pale colors, the Alexander McQueen-collection brought wit, romance and the expressionism of Mick Jagger and David Bowie to the catwalk, although it lacked a bit of McQueens’ own provocative and edgy elements. There were Savile Row jackets in bold black & white checks or peacock shades, as well as the loose trousers in candy red & white stripes or hammered satin. Burton also presented  varsity-style jackets in leather and suede, a flame-print evening jacket and a white coat with bold red spray-effect bands.

D&G Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2012

The D&G- ss2012 show brought us back to the years that Gianni Versace reigned men’s fashion with his large foulard-prints. But the designers at D&G went a bit further, they not only used the prints for shirts, they also mixed them with denim in pants, showed them on bermudas, hats, suede moccasins, jackets and T-shirts. And every which way and loose, loose being the operative word for flowing shirts, low-crotch pants and roomy swimming trunks. We’ve got the message indeed.

This is the last D&G collection before it is integrated with the main label.  So we’d better enjoy it.

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