Valentino Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Menswear FW2017

It was the first solo men’s Valentino show for Pierpaolo Piccioli after the split from longtime design partner Maria Grazia Chiuri, now creative director of women’s collections at Christian Dior. Piccioli got inspired by Jamie Reid, the English artist best known for his Sex Pistols album cover art and used two short poems of him for the brand. “Beauty is a birthright, reclaim your heritage,” read one. “It seemed to be the end until the next beginning,” said the second.
Those phrases, in Reid’s signature ransom-note style, appeared on everything from an ankle-length gray double cashmere coat to a pink intarsia sweater.

Piccioli did not go down the punk route of safety pins and mohair sweaters. He gave the lineup a collegiate feel by pairing the outfits with sweaters worn over shirts with slim black bow ties. Shrunken suit jackets looked like they had been outgrown, while off-kilter shades like pastel green and pink gave duffel coats and workwear jackets a confident flair.

Haider Ackermann Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Menswear FW2017

“I’m always attracted to the elegant man, but I’m always kind of a mess,” said Haider Ackermann backstage ato WWD after his his wild patchwork of a show. The collection had a punk feel, with magnified houndstooth fabrics patchworked with black leather for vests and jackets; a long, dark red military style coat, and plaid, checked or striped trousers, some with tartan tops knotted around the waist. Velvet played a starring role, patched together with leather or wool for a jacket or adorned with devoré fabric with ragged edges or more houndstooth checks.
There were shiny, billowing anoraks, hoodies, houndstooth topcoats and suede bombers that came with turtlenecks, tank tops and vests.

Balenciaga Catwalk Fashion Show Paris Menswear FW2017

Demna Gvasalia, the designer of Balenciaga, got inspired by the corporate style. His fall-collection was all about the 9-to-5, from the mail room straight up to the c-suite.
Gvasalia worked around formalwear and put tailoring on a pedestal, took away the rigidity of the classic corporate suit and breath some warmth and coziness into it. He delivered a slick, thought-provoking collection packed with tailoring — and comfort: Suits were cut loose and baggy — no restrictive tailoring here — while shirts were fully unbuttoned, flashing chest flesh. Coats were even bigger, boxy and long enough to stash an umbrella or two, and had the sharply exaggerated shoulders that Gvasalia is making his signature at the brand. Footwear came in the form of chunky soled sneakers, combat-style or rain boots.

Fendi Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Menswear FW2017

Silvia Venturini Fendi unpopped the lid of her Lego box for this playful collection of sports-inspired silhouettes in primary brights and animal patterns with a Pop Art spirit.
Many of Milan’s designers are determined to keep things real this season, with an eye to dressing men for everyday in easy clothes pulled from gym bags, sports fields, college kids’ wardrobes or the hiking trail.
The colors, including electric tangerine, bubblegum pink, bright green and cobalt — not to mention the patchwork and painterly fur details on lapels and collars — were “an optimistic sign for the future.”

To convey a sense of lightness and practicality, Fendi worked with nylon for puffers, trousers and jackets. The dark pieces were almost always luxed-up with contrasting pops of colored fur.

Models marched down two long catwalks in androgynous looks — a leopard-print coat and pink tracksuit trousers worn with furry orange slides, or a dark coat, its fur lapels done in tutti-frutti colors. Contrast, go-faster stripes stretched down the sides of trousers or came as furry strips on jacket arms.

There was a cartoonish feel to the boxy bags — which came in electric pink or screaming yellow, some with fuzzy bobbles dangling off the handles — and to the fur coats that were inset with soccer-fan scarves reading Fantastic Fendi.

Versace Catwalk Fashion Show Milan Menswear FW2017

Gone were the beefcake models, the shiny Medusa logos — not to mention most of the flashiness that have become synonymous with Versace men’s wear. In their place came subtler elements: blanket coats, trenches and shearlings, and lean, sensible suits.

Donatella Versace’s mission this season was to dress a variety of men — not just showmen. Versace replaced her tall, buff boys with an international cast of models who were smaller and, well, more “normal” looking.
As they hightailed it down the multiple, intersecting runways they looked a lot like commuters — rich ones, at least — decked out in a variety of urban uniforms, staring straight ahead and striding with a determined step.
Some wore businessman clothes such as camel coats, trenches and lightweight topcoats, some of which were slit up the sides. Suits were fitted while trousers flared slightly, and had little slashes at the bottom à la unzipped track suits. Other models worked a street-y look, dressed in puffers — with a lumberjack check — or a patterned bomber mismatched with plaid trousers, and a baseball cap.

Among the highlights was a soft black-and-red blanket coat with a triangle pattern, inspired by traditional Jewish textiles, a dark suit with an original, off-kilter tartan drawn by hand, and hoodies and tops adorned with collaged photographs of neo-classical statues.

Dolce & Gabbana Catwalk Fashion Show Menswear Milan FW2017

For Fall ’17, Dolce & Gabbana took the idea of inviting YouTube and Instagram influencers from the millennial generation to their show, started by them last season, by inviting them to be the show. But they weren’t only chasing models with fat follower portfolios; there were children of clients at the Alta Moda couture line in the mix, too.
Cameron Dallas, who, as usual, brought several hundred hopelessly devoted young female fans in his wake, opened the show in a black and burgundy suit as Austin Mahone, also suited, wielded a golden microphone on the runway.
Regal canines—including a great snob fox in a smoking jacket shown on one velvet sweatshirt worn over brocade patch jeans—were a theme. Sneakers were dipped in resin, given elegant brand signature, or scribbled and sketched on in a teen-dream mosaic like those covering the backpacks of the Cameron Dallas fans screaming in the freezing cold outside.

Marni Catwalk Fashion Show Menswear Milan FW2017

It’s not an easy challenge to set a new path for a fashion brand after the departure of its founder and creative director. With his debut collection for Marni, Francesco Risso was wise enough to not completely shock the label’s followers — there were references to the Consuelo Castiglioni era in the color palette, the graphic patterns and the use of fabrics — while attempting to tap into a younger generation of customers. So instead of continuing Castiglioni’s strive for quirkiness, Risso embraced a more approachable, cool street approach.

While Castiglioni with her approach to fashion drew fans of the avant garde, Risso with his first collection seemed interested in developing a more playful, youthful image for the brand — one that is definitely less edgy.

MOAM Catwalk Fashion Show 2016

MOAM is back for her third edition, MOAM 3.0. After two successful editions in EYE and Rijksmuseum, MOAM collective started with a new group of five designers. These talented designers have all graduated from different academies and worked together on one collection. This collective has been coached by iconic names from the fashion industry.

The designers
In this third edition of MOAM collective, MOAM has given a platform to Christiaan de Vries (AMFI), Elysanne Schuurman (HKU), Olivier Jehee (KABK), Maartje Janse (ArtEZ) and Nikki Duijst (KABK). They were weekly coached by three pioneers from the fashion industry: Frans Ankoné, Mariette Hoitink and Peter Leferink. Next to them this edition was also coached by Claes Iversen, Dieter de Cock, Fiona Hering, Iris Ruisch, Jan Jansen, Jan Taminiau, Maison the Faux, Mart Visser, Pauline van Dongen, Ronald van der Kemp and Saskia Stoeckler.

The process
In six months time this collective has worked closely together on a collection consisting of 25 looks for men and women. The designers received complete creative freedom and where responsible from first sketch to final catwalk show. In this process they where coached by professionals from the Dutch creative industry. The keystones for this process are talent development and passing knowledge from the current generation on to the new.
Hotelier and old clothing tailor Krasnapolsky invited this new generation of MOAM designers to host the catwalk show in de renewed ‘Wintertuinen’. This location fits this years design concept perfectly. With overlapping traits like; heritage, innovation and typical Amsterdam elements this was a collaboration made in heaven.

Kenzo Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear Paris SS2017

Starting off with cool camoflauge prints and little safari co-ords Kenzo’s SS2017 line up soon evolved into more funky dresscodes. Like a patent leather skirt worn with a ruffled blouse and a metallic top. Or a skirt and oversized Tee both which had images of Kenzo back in the (Studio 54, just check out this clip) days printed on them. Yet the best chapter of the show started with a parade of shiny disco dresses full of beads and sequins. Studio 54 dressing on fleek. If only we’d still be able to relive some of those marvellous disco dancing nights. But will surely find other occasion to wear that pink dress with handwritten prints and sparkling top to. It deserves a place in the spotlights that’s for sure. Same goes for those chunky earpieces…wow! Carol Lim and Humberto Leon sure found a way to overcome the H&M hype (their collaboration collection is hitting stores next month). This collection of 54 looks will have both fashion critics and Kenzo customers going wild (like Jerry Hall and Pat Cleveland on that stage).

Esther DorhoutMees Catwalk Fashion Show Womenswear Paris SS2017

Her Paris Haute Couture debut asked for a follow up. So today Esther Louise Dorhout Mees was back in Paris to present her SS17 collection ‘Orphic’. Inspired by lightning, which is beautiful (to watch) and horrifying at the same time, the talented Dutch designer came up with a feminine collection filled with layered elegance. A line up that really spoke to the audience as soon as the first model (with the frizziest, struck-by-lightning-hair) appeared.

‘‘ORPHIC’ (adj.) Mysterious and entrancing; beyond ordinary understanding’ was about thunder and the designer’s fascination with what happens when someone survives a lightning strike. An exceptional (and rather dreadful) starting point that lead to some exquisite and surprisingly lighthearted looks. Prints referred to both the movement of electricity and the fading it causes as well as scars on a skin.

Fabrics both airy and nacre shiny beautifully worked together in some of the esthetic and arty couture looks as tight corsets, countlessly tied at the back (resembling scars) played a crucial part. Whites, nudes, red and touches of mint formed a graceful pallet, no doubt linked to all things human like skin, veins and blood. And not just the fabrics, but the jewelry and the sneakers too matched the show’s engrossing theme.

Something to think about next time you’re witnessing a thunderstorm..

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