Louis Vuitton Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2011

The Louis Vuitton-collection was a pitch dark one, with lots of black, dark-blue, brown and highlighted by off-white and the brightest of red. The silhouette was rather straight and sometimes the waist was accentuated with a belt or ribbon tied around it. It seemed designer Paul Helbers played with the volumes of a down jacket, textures of velvet, leather and fur, the mix of formal with informal. The coat played a big part in this collection, from kimono-inspired to parka. Different fabrics used in one item gave a contemporary look, the shiny and sharp body-warmers had the look of body armor. Luckily the red and white flowing fabrics like silk added some air into the rather strict and sober collection.

Paris Catwalk Fashion Show fw2010: Louis Vuitton

Dutch designer Paul Helbers presented a very wearable Louis Vuitton menswear collection. His decent-looking models wore items you could easily imagine on men passing by on the street.

The clothes came in masculine shades like dark gray, black and brown. Paul Helbers designed knitted cardigans and double-breasted, long, woolly coats. As seen in other f/w menswear collections the LV-jackets – as well as his bags – often had leather details. The leather used for some coats almost looked fake, while it had no creases, tears or what-so-ever.

A lot of big bags were shows. Christian Schoeler had painted some Vienna-inspired ones in white with fading colors, representing winter landscapes. Most models wore leather gloves and walked on boot-clogs in which they’ d tucked their legs.

At the end of the show both Paul Helbers and Marc Jacobs appeared on the runway, while Marc Jacobs applauded for his Dutch colleague.