Live From...Paris Fashion Week, Day 3

Dior  Homme

Kris van Assche stripped his spring/summer collection back to the essentials, with a showing entitled Less and More, in which the designer excluded any extraneous detailing and honed sihouettes with an almost monastic purity.

The look: Pure and simple

Silhouette: A combination of fluid and pared back

Key items: Tailoring was high on Van Assche's agenda with elegantly constructed 2SBs featuting ultra-narrow lapels, or in his boxy 4 and 6DBs using silver rings instead of buttons, all layered over collarless shirts or spartan leather tees. Those narrow SBs were also worked as button-to-the-neck jacket shapes, as a sleeveless shirt/jacket hybrid or as a soft duster coat. The leather shirt and simple half-sleeved shirt nodded to two of next summer's emerging trends, and pant shapes came as cropped easy rise silhouettes, bringing a youthful mood into play

Colour: The palette reflected the designer's pared-down aesthetic, with white dominating over black, pigeon grey, Manila, flax and saxe blue

Fabric & knit: Silk taffeta, softest nappa or lambskin, crisp cotton, nylon

Details & trims: Silver rings in place of buttons, contrast neck binding and contrast waistbands on pants

Footwear: Laced ankle boots

Accessories: Wide-brimmed unstructured fedoras, boxy shoppers, leather wristbands, narrow leather belts

Hermes

As you would expect, low-key luxury took place over directional new trends at Véronique Nichanian's showing for Hermès. This is the world of super-yachts, jetset travel and endless vacations played out in the finest fabrications with laidback impeciable styling.  

The look: Subtle luxe

Silhouette: Relaxed resort dressing

Key items: Relaxed pyjama pants brought a casual appeal to soft shouldered DBs, or came worked with matching shirt jackets. That same laidback mood permeated everything from patch-pocket casual SBs, lightweight macs, striped jersey shirts, and the house's signature printed shirts. Luxe suede, leather and python were brought down to earth with Nichanian's perfectly cut suede tees and shirts, lightweight blousons and parkas – all teamed with straight-cut tailored pants, cropped resort shorts and fine-gauge knits

Colour: Warm shots of sun-baked mid-tones lifted the palette – think old gold and washed terracotta teamed with black and white, smoke grey and navy with accents of lime, aqua and hot pink for accessories

Fabric & knit: Pressed linen, striped jersey, silk, ciré, solid checks on cotton, suede, lambskin, mesh linings, python, alligator

Print & pattern: A tonal scarf print in blues and greys, a snaking linear print on white grounds

Details & trims: Zips, knitted welts, piping

Footwear: Simple lace-ups, thong sandals

Accessories: Holdalls, giant Birkin bags, colourful scarves, woven belts

Kenzo 

It was colour and pattern all the way at Kenzo. A breezy summer collection full of signature tailoring worked vivid SE Asian-inspired prints with a palette of hot brights, combined together as if by a traveller who picks up souvenir pieces along his journey.

The look: Intrepid traveller

Silhouette: Classic tailoring with neat casual layers

Key items: The 2SB or 4DB tailored suit or blazer was a core piece, worked in vivid colour to provide and anchor to the riot of prints that came as resort shirts, casual pants and easy-knee-length resort shorts. Those same prints also appeared as a zipped-front shirt jacket and even as flamboyant tailoring, tempered with nautical striped tees and colourful cargo shorts. The look diversified with the inclusion of boxy lightweight outerwear and jacquard patterned knits

Colour: A rainbow of brights, including salmon, parrot green, cobalt, chrome yellow and hot pink worked with grounding colours like taupe, string, sky blue, navy  and white

Fabric & knit: Denim, twill, micro checks, grid-like check shirtings, smooth cottons, lightweight melanged suiting, linen, silk. Fine-gauge knits, jacquard knits, jersey

Print & pattern: A colourful pictorial scarf print, vintage SE Asian-style florals, a simple monochrome faded palm print, all-over florals, a coin spot motif, navy and white stripes, an exotic lily placement motif on white grounds

Details & trims: Contrast white buttons on tailoring

Footwear: Coloured sandals and lace-ups, apron-front lace-ups, soft two-tone loafer shapes

Accessories: Soft printed sun hats, silk scarves and neckerchiefs, canvas/leather totes, coloured leather belts

Maison Martin Margiela

Things were transparently clear at Maison Martin Margiela, where super lightweight fabrics allowed the inner layers or linings to shine through. It made for a surprisingly commercial collection full of reworked essential wardrobe staples.

The look: Lightweight

Silhouette: Soft volume supporting unstructured silhouettes

Key items: The season's mood for lightweight voluminous outerwear was all present and correct with billowing duster coats, soft trenches and even a poncho. That same soft volume was repeated in casual blouson jackets – one transformed from a tuxedo. The emerging trend for safari jackets was addressed too, here in lightweight cottons. 2SB tailoring was worked in superfine cotton weights, allowing the striped knits or bandanna-print shirts worn underneath to peek through, creating a light-diffused look. Pants were cut straight and slim, with rolled cuffs showing contrast linings, or were worked in striped cotton shirtings – a fabric used in spliced-up ribbons for textured pop-corn style knits

Colour: A tight masculine palette of black, white, bone, grey, sand, a range of summery blues, khaki, brick and a pop of fire-engine red

Fabric & knit: This collection played with lightweight fabrics to create a weightless feel – think cotton crepe, cotton voile, semi-sheer nylon, cotton shirtings, striped jersey, waxed cotton, and superfine cotton knits

Print & pattern: A vintage bandanna print, overdyed and worked as a patchwork print

Details & trims: Striped bindings, contrast linings

Footwear: Classic oxfords, slip-on no-lace derbys, Chelsea boots

Accessories: Scarves, both print and fringed, tooled leather belts, key chains, cummerbunds

Raf Simons

A colorful play on print and pattern from Raf Simons in a turnaround from the dour collection he presented for Jil Sander in Milan. Here he teamed checks and florals with the simplest silhouettes, cutting, splicing and working bias effects into his mix.

The look: Classics with a playful twist

Silhouette: Softly tailored with a casual slant

Key items: Simons took six or seven basic shapes and reworked them through print and pattern. The commuter mac, the sleeveless tee, top, the half-sleeve shirt, tunic shirts, knitted tanks and 2SBs all got a makeover in spliced checks, floral intarsia and jacquards and a playful palette of summer brights

Colour: Black provided the core to the palette scored with aqua, mandarin, bright watermelon, mimosa, baby pink and sky blue

Fabric & knit: Madras plaids, checks, leather, taffets, silk cotton canvas

Print & pattern: Simple floral intarsia and jacquards, a profusion of checks and plaids worked on the straight, patchworked together and cut on the bias

Details & trims: Zipped side seams and shoulders on leather tees

Footwear: High-shine lace-ups

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Live From... Paris Menswear, Day 3

Maison Martin Margiela

 A well-balanced collection from Maison Martin Margiela with diverse influences bringing city, country and subtle nautical looks into play. 

The look: Town and country
Silhouette: Casual layers, classic tailoring
Key items: Tailoring comes in the form of classic 4DBs layered over polo-neck sweaters, or as a velvet blazer and double-layered SB jackets, maybe teamed with a relaxed pant or a straight-legged trouser shape and a slick Crombie-style coat. Shearling and leather coats or gilets bring a rustic touch into play teamed with chunky knits and easy cargo pants, complete with nautical-inspired reefer jackets and overscaled blanket wool coats offset with the contrast of a vividly coloured down-filled lining
Colour: Multiple tones of grey teamed with camel, terracotta and brick with accents of burgundy and saxe blue, winter white, bone and vivid azure
Fabric & knit: Brushed wool, flannel suitings, velvet, double-faced wools, reversing to a check, tweed, chambray, shearling. Tweedy knits, heavy-gauge knits
Details & trims: Exposed zips
Footwear: Grey boots, suede boots


Miharayasuhiro

Poor boy tailoring, a hint of nautical and vintage country looks combine for an offbeat mix at Miharayasuhiro, where contrast braided trims help define the revamped silhouettes.
The look: Little Lord Fauntleroy-meets-country gent
Silhouette: Shrunken and layered
Key items: The shrunken poor-boy SB or DB is worked with knee-length shorts and high-buttoned waistcoats (vests: US), layered over leggings or teamed with heavy-gauge knitted socks. Cropped pant shapes and truncated jackets offer an alternative silhouette while knickerbockers and gilets—in padded Aran knit or rabbit fur – or tailoring worked in a trompe l’oeil Aran-knit print  bring countrified influences into play. The duffel gets a makeover, reworked with an asymmetric caped sleeve and Admiral jackets come with unravelled bullion epaulettes. And to keep the look grounded, a luxe shearling gilet, a slick aviator jacket and a short reefer coat
Colour: Indigo, camel, a range of rich tan and chestnut browns
Fabric & knit: Velvet, flannel, tweed and melanged jersey, shearling and leather, rabbit combined with a simple windowpane check in azure or orange on a muted ground
Print & pattern: A trompe l’oeil Aran knit print
Details & trims: Contrast braid edging or binding, ravaged edges, tux stripe on cropped pant
Footwear: Laced military boots, pointed Oxfords
Accessories: Knitted socks, Argyle socks, brooches and pins, shoppers

Hermès

A signature luxurious collection from Veronique Nichanian for Hermès, effortlessly giving classic men’s styling a new youthful beat.

The look: Modern luxe
Silhouette: Classic
Key items: Outerwear is a strong suit within the collection, with luxurious shearling reefers, belted leather DBs, casual puffas, fur collared bikers and classic 6DB Crombie styling layered over 4DB suits or lean 2SB tailoring and toning shirts. The house’s signature leather and suede come as soft pants, an easy suede shirt or a leather all-in-one, with cabled knits adding the final luxe touch
Colour: Layered shades of grey add to the feeling of quiet luxury, along with black, olive green, rich chestnut browns and camel. Old gold, sky blue and azure blue are the complementary accents worked for luxe knits
Fabric & knit: Luxe leathers and suede, shearling, blistered pinstripe suitings, cashmere, subtle toning checks, lofty brushed wools
Footwear: Classic Oxfords are updated with rubbed toes and the house’s signature orange as the sole
Accessories: Plain-dyed ties, checked and striped scarves, crocodile belts, barrel-shaped bags

Raf Simons

Raf Simons redefines menswear with his groundbreaking collection of breathtakingly simple pieces, techno fabrications and vivid colour. This is design aesthetic at its purest, no tricksy details, just beautiful clothes.

The look: Modern simplicity
Silhouette: Streamlined and boxy or reed thin
Key items: Simons takes the basics of a man’s wardrobe and reworks them with the subtlest of details – the duffel comes with coloured toggles or in bonded flannel for a sculpted feel. The parka is stripped down to its essentials and reworked in poppy red flannel; the tailored SB is reworked as a boxy jacket and coats are turned into simple A-line tunics with a single toggle closure. Boxy Harringtons, wide-legged pants and knee-length tunic knits or classic crew-neck Fair Isle sweaters, a striped brushed mohair shell top and apron-like overlayers complete the look
Colour: A classic palette of camel, black, burgundy and grey, with modernist accents of fuchsia, poppy red and ultraviolet
Fabric & knit: Techno bonded flannel gives the collection its edge, creating the simplest sculpted silhouettes and contrasted with cashmere, brushed mohair and wet-look patent
Print & pattern: Fair Isles patterns for knitwear, a dead prince college logo, shirting checks
Details & trims: Simple square closures in vivid brights, mismatched coloured toggles
Footwear: Classic Oxfords
Accessories: Plain-dye ties, checked scarves

Kenzo

Antonio Marras takes us on a journey through the Highlands with the Edwardiana dandy for this autumn/winter showing, mixing colour and pattern with a carefree hand. 

The look: Edwardian Scottish dandy
Silhouette: Multilayered and mismatched
Key items: There are retro connotations in Marras’ high-waisted belted pants and cutaway high-buttoned 1DB jackets and his neat-fit patterned tank tops. Other bottomweights include coated and pieced jeans, leather biker pants, kilts and vivid velvet cuffed trousers. Jacquard cardigans and sweaters layered over plaid shirts or under tartan tailoring and biker jackets are teamed with classic SB suiting for an offbeat look, while vivid colour-blocking gives a classic blazer, slim-legged pants and V-necked knits a fashion twist
Colour: Shots of lettuce green, chrome yellow, vermilion, ultramarine, bright red and mandarin bring the classic palette of black, grey, camel and tan to life 
Fabric & knit: A mixed medley of plaids and checks, velvet, pinstripes, Donegal and Shetland tweed, shearling, curly lamb, coated denim and herringbones, teamed with mismatched Fair Isle, Argyle and jacquard knits
Print & pattern: Woven plaids and checks, florals, a tonal abstract print
Details & trims: Fur collars
Footwear: High-shine Oxfords and classic brogues, high-laced military boots
Accessories: Bow ties and bowler hats, striped ties, rucksacks, briefcases and weekend bags

Dior Homme 

 
Kris Van Assche strips away any extraneous detailing for his sublimely simple collection for Dior Homme, bringing a new luxurious modernity to menswear.

The look: Less is definitely more
Silhouette: Pared-back fluidity
Key items: Tailoring is cut into fluid and streamlined silhouettes, as Van Assche teamed the season’s most fluid pant shapes with monastic shirt jackets or narrow-lapel SBs. Elsewhere he layers an SB over an elongated high-buttoned cutaway collarless jacket or teams a simple long-sleeved shell top over matching pants as an alternative to the classic suit. Capes add to the fluid feel, while edge-to-edge buttonless double-faced coats and fine-gauge knits reinforce the overriding message of luxurious simplicity
Colour: A monastic palette of black and flannel grey offset with warm mole tones and a splash of vermilion red
Fabric & knit: Luxurious double-faced cashmere, cashmere fine-gauge knits, shearling
Details & trims: Random contrast lines of stitching
Footwear: Classic high-shine OxfordsAccessories: Wide-brimmed high-crown hats, rucksacks, tote bags

3.1 Philip Lim

Phillip Lim takes his menswear onto the international stage this season, with his first showing in Paris, where he presented a youthful interpretation of classic looks, tapping into the minimalist vibe that is underpinning the trends this weekend. 

The look: Modern and minimal
Silhouette: Sparse and boxy
Key items: Buttonless coats and collarless jackets mark the modern minimalism that runs through this collection, with flat-front boxy tailoring teamed with matching jog pants, or worn in mismatched layers over elongated tunic tops. Leather sleeves add to the layered feel along with ribbed sweaters or a biker jacket worn over SB jackets, as well as the ochre all-in-one teamed with a classic blazer. And in keeping with other shows this weekend, the boxy tunic featured, here with fur pockets and a cowl neckline
Colour: Inky blues, French navy and cobalt, olive and taupe with accents of emerald green and old gold or ochre
Fabric & knit: Marled jersey, tweed, jacquard suitings, moleskin, fur
Print & pattern: A horizontal geometric jacquard weave
Details & trims: Hook and eye closures, leather sleeves
Footwear: High-shine ankle boots, some with strap detail 
Accessories: Driving gloves, gauntlets, oversized unstructured briefcases and shopper

Ann Demeulemeester

The unexpected introduction of colour to Ann Demeulemeester’s signature monochrome palette brings a new definition to her menswear line, as she deconstructs tailoring and gives it an edgy vibe. 

The look: Deconstructed gothic rocker
Silhouette: Skinny and layered
Key items: Demeulemeester sticks to a simple formula of high-buttoned vest - sometimes unbuttoned to expose fronds of goat hair -- and deconstructed lean jackets layered over semi-sheer skinny pants in a dark over a bright, creating a veiled look. Her skinny jacket shapes are spliced at the waist to fall into sharp angular panels with low-buttoned tux-style waistcoats worn almost like belts forming collaged effects. There are unstructured biker hybrids to add to the edgy rocker vibe and the designer’s signature historical romantic looks come through in her military greatcoat or the lean knee-length frockcoat
Colour: Grey and black form the core of the palette, with French navy and mole brown and unexpected accents of brights in the form of flame red, scarlet and old gold
Fabric & knit: Leather and suede, shearling and goat hair, semi-sheers, velvet, suitings
Print & pattern: A tonal shadow stripe and coordinated geometric print, an engineered splatter pattern on suiting
Details & trims: Covered buttons, notched edges to form angular panels
Footwear: Biker boots, high-laced military boots, riding boots
Accessories: Gauntlets, toning scarves

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