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.

Jean Paul Gaultier Catwalk Fashion Show Paris SS2012

Jean Paul Gaultier kept it simple during his ss2012 presentation, the showroom was the dressing-room was the stage. So the audience, sitting at the tables where normally buyers write their orders, witnessed the models getting dressed and send off to the catwalk. It was a nice setting to underline the commercial purpose of JPG’s collection. Because it’s all about selling, no.

And commercial it was, from the Hawaiian prints to the sailor-sweaters. There were tailored jackets, fluid silk pants and natty shorts, but also the biker jackets and sporty blouson jackets with tailored pants. It was low key, but effective. Nothing new, all salable.

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.

Highlights of Menswear Milan SS2012

Summer 2011 has just started and we’re already on our way to 2012. Milan menswear-shows brought us some new trends. Not any BIG news really, but shifts in menswear go slowly and rather invisible. Much talked about shows were the Prada-show, with Miucca’s take on golf and all the rules, rituals and codes that belong to that world; the Jil Sander show and Raf Simons’s new black and the Versace-show which looked like an homage to the old Gianni-times. But the seven main trends – besides the wider pants, longer jackets and absence of ties – so far in Milan are the return of sportswear, blue as the new favorite color, bold prints, new checks, tribal-elements, the motor-jacket and the playboy as the new icon.

Sportswear

With the Olympics starting next year in London, it seems a lot of designers are finding inspiration in sportswear. From the tongue in cheek-golfwear from Prada to the fencing-game at Moncler Gamme Bleu. In between you’ll find references to tennis, swimwear, running and sailing. You’ll see it in the color white, the shirts, shorts, the blue and red stripes, the shoes and pants.

Blue

Every kind of blue came back in different collections, there were even designers who presented a whole collection in this color. It’s commercial, it’s fresh, it’s suitable for a lot of men and it’s the color of independence, trust and ambition. And in the world of today men can use that.

New Checks

If you’re not into those new bold Versace-esque prints you can always turn to the good old fashioned checks. Well, old fashioned – designers gave them a new look, twisted them, rearranged them and came up with a new version. And they love to mix them together.

Bold Prints

Ready for some new, bold prints? After the color-blocking from this summer, the Versace-esque print will be the new next thing to show off. And nobody does it better that Donatella Versace herself. Miami here we come!

Tribal

Tribal influences are not really big, but they surely will spice up a suit or jeans – and that’s what menswear needs right now. And when Christopher Bailey of Burberry uses them, you know a trend is born.

The new playboy

Skinny boys were replaced by playboys with a real body in Milan last week. And fashion also embraces the new playboy in the way he dresses and empasizes his body.

The short jacket

With the playboy comes also the short jacket, that accentuate the torso and leaves room to the hips and legs. It also adds a younger touch to an outfit, as long as it’s in leather or plain, minimal cotton. The padded version of Prada seems only suitable for small, skinny boys without a six-pack.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giorgio Armani Catwalk Fashion Show Milan SS2012

The Giorgio Armani ss2012 show had a lot of ingredients that popped up in other shows this week which set the mood for next spring. First of all the color blue, then the new suit with wider pants and longer jackets, followed by the short (motor)jacket and the return of sportswear. The only thing we missed were the bold prints and colors – but these don’t belong to the image of Armani. Well, except for the checkboard-print we noticed at some knitwear and shirts.

« Previous Page — Next Page »