PARIS (AP) — Loewe took Paris Fashion Week into a bleak, dystopian vision of the future on Saturday, turning its runway into a dead space where nature and animal life existed only to be harnessed and exploited by humanity. . A sanitized white wall descended onto a bare platform as models robotically passed by, bathed in hazy white light.
Here are some highlights of the spring-summer 2023 menswear collections:
THE MORTE NATURE OF LOEWE
The models carried plates of television screens showing deep-sea fish in the ocean, and plasma-screen viewers projected growing chrysanthemums. The only place grass grew in designer Jonathan Anderson’s fashion dystopia was literally outside the shoes, where green leaves quivered and fluttered in surreal fashion as automatons passed by.
The British designer used the remarkable ensemble and concept not only as a springboard for some of the most successful designs seen this season, but also to make a thoughtful comment on ecology and humanity’s disregard for the natural world. If we continue, Anderson warned, that world will be destroyed and the only way to see bees will be on video.
Organic versus robotic was explored in Anderson’s concept designs that were intentionally out of place. A minimalist white sweater had excess sleeves that flapped limply at the model’s sides, over white athletic leggings and loafers sprouting 4-inch (10-centimeter) clumps of grass.
Bare chest and legs exposed vulnerability, while hard bags with square shoulder straps added a contrasting fierceness. But the pièce de résistance must have been the giant mustard-colored shoes that looked like horse hooves but could just as easily have come from a “Star Wars” planetary village set. A tour de force!
THE ART OF THE INVITATION
The art of the chic invitation remains a staple of the luxury industry in Paris.
Houses compete to produce the most eye-catching, creative and extravagant entertainment invitations, often delivered by gas-guzzling couriers to each guest’s personal or professional address without a thought for the weather.
Small works of art sometimes give a clue to what a collection has in store; other times, they are simply extravagant.
Louis Vuitton sent a large table game, something akin to the modern snakes and ladders, as an invitation to a show that immerses guests in the creative universe of the late designer Virgil Abloh.
For Dior’s flower-inspired show, the house sent flower seeds that a fashion reporter planted and have already produced buds.
But surely Loewe’s “invitation” was the strangest: a limp box of royal watercress growing in the ground.
CRAIG GREEN IMPRESSES
British designer Craig Green, who was made a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Queen Elizabeth II this year for his contribution to fashion, is a menswear designer who continues to impress.
On Saturday he brought his utilitarian-style products from London to the Paris catwalk for an innovative, fashion-forward take on uniforms.
Green developed his avant-garde aesthetic after internships with names like Walter van Beirendonck and Henrik Vibskov, which led to collaborations with Moncler.
Stirrups, straps, pockets and dangling accessories saw pastel equestrian and fencing clothing deconstructed with a transgressive or even aggressive edge.
Green deftly blurred the line between art and fashion. A do-it-yourself look, with a top that appeared to be an inverted sink with a mason’s ladder on the back, was also evocative of a breastplate of armor.
Is Green constantly taking up the mantle of the late Alexander McQueen?
THE CASABLANCA RODEO
Cowgirls and cowboys mingled in the dazzling Casablanca show that was noted for its highly unusual ensemble. The mixed collection was organized in front of several fenced-in horses that paid little attention to the clothing, nonchalantly passed the waste and sniffed in the opposite direction.
Designer Charaf Tajer cared little for indifferent equine reaction, sending energetic and enthusiastic looks to the runway that hailed from the heart of American rodeos and the Wild West.
It was fun.
Quirky shirt panels in camp, pastel hues accompanied by oversized, stiff lapels that were a version of the cowboy jacket. They were sometimes accessorized with large Liberace-style cowboy hats.
Color blocking and vivid patterns added even more visual flair, as bright red pants created a dizzying contrast with a canary peak-shouldered coat and patches of pale blue.
THE SOFT GEOMETRY OF HERMES
Smooth geometry and loose proportions paraded across the cobblestones of The Gobelins Manufactory, a historic tapestry factory on Paris’ fashionable Left Bank.
Hermes has become synonymous with simple, unpretentious luxury. Veteran menswear designer Veronique Nichanian, who has been at the forefront of design for three decades, proved it again on Saturday in a sleek, masculine 1980s-inspired exhibit.
It was a more relaxed event than usual, with contemporary takes on Roman sandals and baggy, comfortable boxy shorts.
There were the expected studies in contrasts. The tensions appeared in the proportions, as in an oversized pastel gray jacket worn over a low-rise vest and high-rise shorts. The difference came in the textures and colors of the fabrics: a shimmery taupe shirt was worn under a molasses-colored leather jacket over flowing black pants.
Gently geometric lines adorned wool sweaters in countless shades.
Unlike most Paris shows, there was no broad concept, gimmick or muse, simply because none was needed.
Source: apnews.com