Sunday 23 January 2011

Autumn/Winter- We Meet Again

So I have never really focused on menswear but all is about to change (pause while the blogosphere readjusts). Once again, it's a whistlestop tour of Paris Fashion Week (it's the best and most important on my calendar, k? It's my blog and I shall neglect whichever week(s) I want!).

I am absolutely distraught that I couldn't be there, but I need to put the tears aside and get on with the job.

Part of the beauty of Paris Fashion Weeks is the setting - each one grander than the last - with the aim of invoking the desired atmosphere before the show even begins. Place des Vosgues, Salon des Miroirs, Galerie de Minéralogie... you get the idea, they are usuall pretty epic.

So such an epic week deserves an epic post. The epicness is delivered in the form of one long post because let's face it, we are all too busy getting on with our immensely full lives - bagel in mouth and keys in hand sort of way - to sit through a detailed blog post on Menswear. You want it now, I get it!

Excuse me as I wipe the week old drool from my keyboard as we move to cover Ann Demeulemeester (at Couvent des Cordeliers). She serves as a constant favourite, and this season did not disappoint:
The colour palette, the styling (notice the horsehair woven into the models' hair), and the beautiful cuts of the garments make for an all-round poetic show-stopper. I admit I would wear every single piece myself, if she did skinny girl sizes.

Sadly we must trot along...

To Lanvin:
I think it is safe to say that Lucas Ossendrijver has succeeded in bringing elegance to the youth and the amalgamation of old school suave with a modern twist gives this collection a good balance without feeling disjointed. And who can ignore the always dreamy flow of the fabrics? Impressive..

On to another direction now for Alexis Mabille (at Salon des miroirs):
No brownie points for guessing where the theme of this collection came from. This is a departure for me from the usual mens fashion I gravitate towards and is also a departure for Mabille (no bows!) with an ever so slightly more masculine thread throughout. The strong cut and material of the coats help to toughen up the collection but the styling of the above ensemble is whimsical but surprisingly cool.

As always, Prorsum (from MILAN I know but it's a constant feature here..) delivers some killer coats for AW, which should be strong pieces in any self respecting winter collection but the colours and some of the cuts just don't do it for me.. I'm not a big believer in wearing different coats for every possible weather combination and this is obviously where this collection jars with me. You decide:
(Had to showcase the panelling..) And if you haven't seen it already, find the rather wet Prorsum finale here.

Another old time favourite is Rick Owens (at POPB, salle Marcel Cerdan):
The myriad of influences in this latest outing can porbably be guessed just by careful observation and there is real skill in the way that Rick has managed to combine them all into a cohesive, incredibly cut collection. Men in skirts have never looked so cool since the Scots. Also note his signature awesome boots..

Lastly, on to the rather interesting collection that Margiela (at Passage du Désir, BETC) presented to his audience with a backstage view where they could dissect the pieces one by one:
The choice of models in this show was probably the direct opposite of those by Yamamoto - older and exceedingly handsome, which presents a perfectly inoffensive but strong setting for garments they carry. Some have commented that this is a more wearable collection from the fashion house but we shall see whether this is a trend..

Postscript: I had wanted to feature an amazing designer who goes by the name of In Aisce but until I can find public pictures of his latest collection, I shall refrain. If you are on Style Zeitgeist, you can view the collection here

Couture Week post coming soon..

Until then! Bisous

All photos courtesty of Style.com

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