Trend Fall/Winter 2012/2013: Divided

There’s only so many options to vary with a menswear wardrobe. Yet this season designers found a surprising way of spicing things up. Usual menswear suspects like the suit, the coat and the winter sweater were all made out of different parts. And though that is always the case with fashion pieces, this time all parts were clearly visible on the runway. Most designers worked pieces of leather into their looks. Like a piece of green leather on a Bottega Veneta suit, some crocodile leather on the top of a Calvin Klein sweater, leather sleeves (John Varvatos) and shoulders (Rick Owens, Yves Saint Laurent). Others mixed different types of wool, color and played with heavy and lighter fabrics. A fun way of mixing things up, especially with these thick winter pieces.

Ann Demeulemeester Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

The models at Ann Demeulemeester’s show wore a wild crown of hair, blades and black feathers. They had long leather gloves on their arms and black leather pants that melted into long boots. There was lots of black leather and velvet, but more inbteresting was the inky, midnight blue color. The collection had powerful outerwear and dark elegant dresses — worked in variations and fabrics rich with dimension. Tailored jackets and trenches came cut up into asymmetrical folds with sculpted collars. Long, lean dresses were simple aside from a single drape at the neckline or back. This was surely a tough, graceful women.

Kenzo Catwalk Fashion Show Paris FW2012

Today Humberto Leon and Carol Lim proved their the right guys for the Kenzo design job. Their debut menswear collection was young, refreshing, well tailored and still had all the Kenzo-aspects in it. A color palette ranging from orange to moss green was their interpretation of the brand’s lively colors. While some subtle medallion prints (on a pair of pants, a jackets, a sweater and a blouse) represented Kenzo’s signature vivid prints.

Especially for a winter collection Leon and Lim’s take on Kenzo felt fresh. Who needs black when you have the perfect burgundy? And why would you opt for white if you can produce the same item in a exquisite shade of camel.

At Kenzo too, the coats were the eye catchers of the show. Although we must say some of those vibrant sneakers kept screaming at us as well…