British designer Kim Jones staged his final men’s show for the French luxury brand Louis Vuitton after seven years at the helm. He marked the event by inviting two friends, Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss, to take turns on the catwalk. The designer delivered his trademark mix of luxurious tailoring and upscale streetwear in a collection titled “Overview” — a reference to the aerial images of Kenya that formed the basis for most of the prints.
This was no safari, though. Jones homed in on otherworldly landscapes of lava, craters and stalagmites, which he used as the basis of his ashy palette of mineral tones and a variety of glazed and metallic effects, down to the titanium trunk strapped to one model’s back.
His band of explorers wore outfits including a glossy burgundy aviator jacket paired with glazed monogram denim pants, or a silver herringbone coat over a metallic silk flight suit.
Dries van Noten presented a curious, but well balanced mix of combinations, like Las Vegas-style Western garb, white broderie anglaise pants, military parkas, suits in traditional British checks, granny crochet cardigans and pajama stripes. There was also a hint of pimp and a hearty dose of punk, such as a look pairing a glittery zebra sweater with tartan pants.
Even the more daring elements were digested perfectly into the looks. Case in point: a minimalist navy tracksuit traced with lines of tan cowboy-shirt piping.
Van Noten continued to play with oversize proportions in the slouchy suits, boxy trenchcoats and the baggy pants.
The designer’s magic colorist instincts climaxed in an Instagenic run of anoraks in swirling colored marble-y prints recalling Venetian paper or spun paint, with models gathering in a painterly formation for the finale.
The open-border mixing of cultures worked best on a tropical print pajama shirt paired with a fantasy leopard print skinny pant and snakeskin shoes which, like the rest of the collection, was chic whilst telegraphing rebel instincts.
Haider Ackermann’s collection felt less gritty rock than past collections, and showed a more merch-friendly, cleaner side. Fully intact was his sense of color and nomad instincts. On a range of layered military-ethnic silhouettes for a chic dandy, the designer juxtaposed Army green and khaki with the jewel tones of the silky rich fabrics.
Quilted green and gold underlayers flashed out from the big tailored coats and jackets, silks lined upturned lapels, and white silk-linen cherry blossom embroideries climbed across the clothes, mixing with stripes on one of the kimonos. Soft unconstructed velvet leisure suits underscored the cocooning mood.
There were hints of English suede heads of the Seventies in the larger flare pants and three-quarter lengths worn with boots. Juxtaposed with Moujik pants, caftans and Tibetan coats taken from Tolstoy’s descriptions of humble folks, it was a trademark of Lemaire’s season of zen-meets-workwear.
Amid the clinical crispness, bubblegum pink sweaters, muted overdyed paisleys or marbled swirls — the work of French endpaper artist Atelier La Folie — felt like a thunderclap on a clear day.
Lemaire and Sarah-Linh Tran have developed a glossary of classic Parisian understatedness in their work — think Yves Saint Laurent, the man and the ultrachic male Parisian. In their hands, an overcoat piled atop a jacket and several other elements do not add much bulk, making their layers more nuance than cold weather strategy. Yet the standouts were undoubtedly those silhouettes in which the volume play was marked: a sheepskin flight jacket, worn with elasticated paisley pants; oversize chimney collars and flowing pants, and a generously proportioned marbled hooded raincoat.
What are you wearing during the fashionweeks? Your Gucci-shoes, that Balenciaga-shirt or your latest Vetements-denim? Maybe we’ll spot you in Paris, Milan, New York or Amsterdam. During the fashionweeks we refresh our streetwear posts regularly. We don’t judge, we’re not the fashion-police, we just enjoy fashion and your own personal style. Next stop: Paris Fashionweek, menswear FW2018.
It’s a wrap. A fashion filled month has come to an end. Time to get back to reality (or runway rehab if you will). And we do so in an extremely hyped up manner, overwhelmingly inspired by what the four fashion capitals have brought us. We’re excited for new trends to come and new styles to work their way into our everyday f/w wardrobes. Of course we’ve been covering everything, from catwalk to sidewalk. Now you may have already clicked through our Milan Fashion Week Trend Recap today we’d like to reflect on some Paris fashion week highlights.
Paris fashion week was about shows filled with optimism in the shape of bright colors and clashing prints. About collections full of creativity and fresh ideas in terms of silhouettes, volumes and layering. As well as countless of interesting, desirable, progressive clothing options for the new season. Here are some trend highlights we’ve selected. So you can already mentally prepare for what styles you’ll be rocking once fall 2017 comes knocking.
Our own fashiondictionary Koblenko’s Camera’s love them, they always come in pairs. These are spherical photographic lights which produce a refined light very much appreciated by high end photographers. They are named after a Russian physician who almost won the Nobel-prize for Physics in 1956.