Round Up Paris Menswear SS2016

While Western Europe is taken by it’s first heat wave and wearing as little clothes as possible is all we want, next year’s menswear is on our minds. So what should men be wearing in the summer of 2016? We’ve made a recap of some of Paris Fashion Week’s highlights. Trends to anticipate, items to chase and style splurges to aspire. Here are eight menswear trends for spring/summer 2016.

The utility jacket
Junya Watanabe, Ann Demeulemeester, Balmain
As a man you’re gonna want one or more sleeveless jackets, with lots of pockets. A so called utility jacket, yet note that all of these pockets should stay empty. You don’t want humps and bumps in your perfectly ironed jacket. That’s not cool. There are men bags for keys, wallets and iPhones.

Shiny & Silky
Saint Laurent, Dries van Noten, Louis Vuitton
While men are getting in touch with their feminine side more and more shiny and silky becomes more mainstream. Just look at how the models at Dries van Noten and Louis Vuitton pulled off those extravagant, luxurious attires.

Camouflage
Dior, Saint Laurent, Valentino
Camouflage prints still are a thang. Not too blend in though; these items are meant to be noticed. Festival thrill or business vibe; the camouflage print isn’t too picky when it comes to dresscodes.

Super loose
Walter van Beirendonck, Dries van Noten, Raf Simons
Pants to give you legs for days are not just for the ladies. Next summer your man is gonna want a pair of his own too (wedge sandals excluded). Shirt tucked in and belted; that’s the way to go.

Souvenir jacket
Valentino, Louis Vuitton
This fashion piece may appear like a baseball jacket, but it’s in fact a whole different ball game. The souvenir jacket is shiny, printed, with a sporty touch and goes well with jeans and sneakers.

Heavy on the hardware
Haider Ackermann, Comme des Garcons, Lanvin
Zippers all over, big buckled belts, studs or spikes; going heavy on hardware is key. For all you cool kids out there: even if it’s 30 degrees outside; wear leather and heavy metal details.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Eighties revival
Lanvin, Dries van Noten, Paul Smith
It was about time for it; an eighties revival. We starting subtly though; with short jackets, loose pants and pops of color. More will follow next season, once we’re completely recovered from our seventies syndrome.

Saint Laurent Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2016

Fashion followers know that Hedi Slimane has been photographing the California beach scene for years — long before he replaced Paris for  Los Angeles. So now wonder his ss16 menswear collection has its roots in the “Surf Sounds” .

The pitch-black show venue was covered in kitschy palm-trees-at-sunset wallpaper. And similar motifs turned up on satin jackets and mohair granny cardigans, which the young models wore with the same nonchalance as black leather jackets.

There was plenty of Kurt Cobain in the men’s looks: the shaggy hairstyles; the white plastic sunglasses, the plaid shirts; the denim with blown-out knees. And there were plenty of literal thrift-shop styles.

 

 

Balmain Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2016

For his debut men’s wear show for Balmain, Olivier Rousteing was pretty good prepared. He kicked off with the hardcore techno track “Prepare for Glory.” He tapped the world’s most successful male model, Sean O’Pry, to open and close the show. And he stacked the catwalk with beauties like Alessandra Ambrosio, dressed in women’s resort. For inspiration, Rousteing looked to the great adventurers of the early 20th century — but this was safari male to the max.

Leather jackets were intricately latticed and laced, while a tobacco-hued explorer suit came spliced with a double-breasted jacket with gold buttons. In a nod to hip-hop culture, butter-soft suede was draped into a cowl-necked vest and slouchy drop-crotched pants, while a black sweatshirt glistened with a web of gold hardware. Rousteing plastered his signature gold crests, some featuring a lion’s head or a Union Jack flag, on jackets, including a tiger-striped ponyskin bomber with black leather sleeves, and a trim black blazer with satin lapels

Louis Vuitton Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2016

Kim Jones, menswear designer of Louis Vuitton, likes to travel. Looking for rare animals, hidden crafts and remote landscapes. In Myanmar last year, Jones came across a tribe whose handmade costumes — loosely cut and bearing dynamic stripes — brought to mind modern streetwear and a whiff of the Eighties hip-hop scene. More recently in Japan, he discovered Kobe leather, named after the pampered cows that produce that prized beef.

Jones dappled exotic prints and embroideries, mainly plucked from Southeast Asia, across traditional Ivy League silhouettes. He hit on souvenir jackets, also sending out sweatshirt versions and similar pajama sets decorated with birds of paradise, cranes and monkeys lodged in bamboo.

Accessories were mostly  totes in supple versions of monogram canvas that are, like the souvenir jackets and those coats in the thinnest leather, reversible.

Givenchy Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2016

Dries van Noten Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2016

Dries van Noten honored Hollywood bombshell Marilyn Monroe, in his spring collection. There were black-and-white photo prints on suits, capes, shirts, sweaters, boxer shorts, you name it. And it will sure ignite a trend.  This collection echoed other Paris runwayshows in pointing to a more embellished path for men’s wear. Van Noten added sparkly embroideries and sequins to his roomy, vaguely Fifties clothes as Elvis Presley crooned “Love Me Tender”.  Besides Monroe’s lips, lobsters were a recurrent motif, winking to Salvador Dali and Elsa Schiaparelli, among “creative provocateurs” Van Noten cited as references.

The designer choose looser silhouettes, teaming his slouchy double-breasted jackets and boxy camp shirts with skater shorts.

Gucci Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

Gucci’s new designer Alessandro Michele presented his first official menswear-collection. This collection  amplified his idiosyncratic, “genderless” approach as he lavished his thrift shop Seventies collection with florid embroideries of exotic birds, butterflies and flowers.
Choral music played as the the often bespectacled models walked a 300-foot runway. Except for the radical bell-bottomed pants and jeans that puddled over Corvette red loafers, almost every garment and accessory was embellished, from fur trim on jade green silk robes and silvery botanicals crawling over a red tracksuit to the punk studs lining the Achilles tendon of silvery sneakers. On Michele’s coed runway, the line between suits and pajamas blurred in a barrage of lavish silk brocades and wallpaper prints. Bow blouses, or ones with pointy collars or sailor airs, were worn by both sexes — and sometimes it was hard to tell him from her.
The press has been gentle on the unassuming Michele, embracing his daring neo-dandyism and recognizing his influence. Let’s see what his customers will say.

 

Dolce & Gabbana Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

Each new collection from Dolce & Gabbana now presents a revision of signatures old (like the strict tailoring), and new, like the oversize geisha silhouette. But there’s never a sense of the banality that you might expect to attach itself to the overly familiar. That’s because the clothes are infused with a visual intensity that transcends the kitschiness of the imagery to become something verging on celebration. The parade of peacocks and dragons and swallows darting through bamboo forests that passed down the catwalk was indeed a catalog of kitsch, but by the time those elements had been printed on a silk boot or embroidered on a lace shirt or knitted into a cardigan sweater, they’d become facets of a collection that also featured three-piece suits and patched jeans and summery striped pants and an army of polo shirts. A whole lot of separates, in other words—suggestions for integrating even the most extravagant piece into a wardrobe.

 

 

 

 

 

Round Up Milan Menswear SS2016

It’s a man’s world. For a little while, if we may say so. We’re in the middle of the Spring 2016 men’s show hurricane. The Italian runways getting wrapped up again and the fashion scenery is moving on. But boy oh boy, Milano has given us some pretty good things for next summer season. Time to look back on some of the most inspiring and exciting trends to have on our future plate.

What can we say? It seems BLUE is bubbling up as a main theme of the season. It’s one of the strongest and coolest colours for men. And we’re not talking small details here, that’s for sure, get the whole package. Dress in blue from head to toe, layer it down and let the details, fabric and silhouette do the talking. Also seen at: Etro, Bottega, Calvin Klein.

Men may not always show it, but just like every human, they also have a SOFTER side. And for SS16 they’re not afraid to show it.  Velvet continues to pop up, just as silks and even lace was part of the deal. And who else than Miuccia Prada to turn men’s fashion week in Milan upside down. You can’t call the season until Miuccia has shown what she’s thinking. And she was thinking about soft silken shirts open to the belt and part-tucked in. Also Gucci opted for silken suits with a comfy pyjama feel to it and Versace’s strong men showed their mild side in bomber jackets. Also seen at: Etro, Burberry, Prada.

To master the art of proportions is one of the most important thing for men’s fashion. For a few seasons now we slowly shift away away from tighter, form-fitting tailoring and see more voluminous and RELAXED SILHOUETTES based on the traditional basics in a men’s closet. Also seen at: Vivienne Westwood, Marni, Versace.

Several fashion houses took us across the world, TRAVELING through cultural differences and details. Tomas Maier’s collection for Bottega Veneta showed his army of men ready for a walk up into the Bavarian Alps, that included Lederhosen on lambskin suede trousers and sandals featuring rope details or even hiking boots, all worn with wool socks. Missoni designed a collection based on the modern-day nomad. But aren’t we all, nowadays? There’s seems to be an interesting fashion conversation between the Eastern and Western world which is translated into long beads, tunics, big scarves, Chinese flower prints, and travel footwear. So get packing fellas, we’re about to go on a trip. Also seen at: Versace, Dolce&Gabbana, Jil Sander.

Bomber jackets, graphics, colour splashes and childish symbols; the more playful and BOYISCH, the better. Why always act like proper adults? Prada was all into racing cars, rocket ships and Energizer Bunnies, all the while Ferragamo was spelling out the alfabet on it’s sweaters. And what about the bold patch trend seen at Moschino? Say it all out loud, dear man. Also seen at: J.W. Anderson, Antonio Marras, Coach.

Already this one seems to be the look of summer/spring 2016. Whether your jacket is patent leather or suede, it doesn’t really matter as long as you can ZIP IT UP. Wear it super clean and office-ready or a bit off-shoulder. Seen at:Neil Barrett, Prada, Emporio Armani.

Let’s keep it SHORT: it’s obviously a huge trend on the catwalks and a summer classic. Don’t be afraid to show off your legs gentlemen, whether you go to the beach, having a stroll around the park or even taking the dogg out. Seen at: No 21, Marni, Coach.

Prada Menswear Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2016

Tailoring was the anchor in the menswear-collection of Prada. Sport jackets, dusters and topcoats were trim, breezy and unlined, made distinctive with contrast stitching and the freewheeling way Prada paired them with short shorts. Zip-neck racer knits and filmy silk shirts, meanwhile, boasted naïve graphics representing that long-eared creature, or race cars.

The latter motif mushroomed into pants and zippered blousons resembling pilots’ uniforms, banded or piped in safety orange and patched with utility pockets. The shorts also came in leather, shown with plunging tanks or boxy, zippered jackets.

 

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