As menswear moves toward a more refined look after years of streetwear dominance, designers at Paris Fashion Week put their own spin on the suit on Wednesday.
Givenchy has found success with a more casual vibe since streetwear king Matthew Williams took over design duties in 2020.
But she went for a dressier, sexier feel for her latest show, with some sleek black suits and turtlenecks, while even her more casual outfits saw Bermuda shorts and hoodies paired with long, sleek coats.
It followed the dark, flowing silhouettes shown by Saint Laurent on Tuesday’s opening night, the first time the iconic French label has shown during Paris menswear week since its Italian designer Anthony Vaccarello took the reins in 2016.
It is seen as a sign of the growing importance of menswear, which is now the fastest growing fashion sector in many markets.
“Saint Laurent, Gucci and Givenchy are working almost better on men than on women at the moment,” Alice Feillard, purchasing director at Paris department store Galeries Lafayette, told AFP ahead of fashion week.
Anthony Alvarez, designer of the young French label Bluemarble, brought a relaxed party atmosphere to the American Cathedral near the Champs Elysees.
But there was still a place for suits among tie-dye, rainbow, sequin, chapka, and oversized faux fur coats.
Backstage, Álvarez described his collection as “somewhere between the energy of the New Orleans carnival and the mystery of the Venice carnival.
“There are more suits than usual. The tailoring represents European savoir-faire, but I have reworked it with baggy cuts,” he told AFP.
More women are finding a place among top-tier menswear designers.
After a well-received opening show from Grace Wales Bonner, fellow Briton Bianca Saunders also offered her own spins on suits and coats on Wednesday.
But with around 100 shows on the official lineup, there’s room for many styles.
Belgian avant-garde Walter Van Beirendonck put on a typically wild and colorful display, with models wearing masks reminiscent of Mexican wrestlers and small inflatable wheels on their bodies.
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He said the protective gear reflected our “very dark, very difficult time.”
“It’s a collection with a lot of protection,” he told AFP after the show. “That’s why I started working on the idea of the exoskeleton.”
But Van Beirendonck insisted that real people could use them.
“They’re probably crazy and they’re fun and they’re probably expensive, but in the end, they’re wearable,” he said.
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Source: news.google.com