Hôtel Salomon de Rothschild 75008 Paris January 17th, 2018
Romanticism: a subtle subversion of interiority laid bare. Giving shape to the freedom of being oneself, without labels and without belongings. Grace as a way of being and as a mean of expression.
Aristopunk: the delicate rebellion that sprouts from awareness. Breaking the schemes, bringing what is known to unknown territories to making it conventional. The extraordinary that becomes ordinary.
Free associations give meaning to new uniforms. Sleight adjustments are individual quivers on dry and vertical figures. The coat as a cover, the tracksuit as the new suit, the blouse as a base.
The short bomber, the down jackets, created in collaboration with Moncler, the nylon messenger bag and the white sneakers as elements of a revised urban repertoire. Animal intarsia from the Valentino archive and constructive artistry leads the savoir faire Couture in the everyday routine, making it normal.
A binding sequence of blue, black and grey. Unexpected and interior, harmonies of off tones of turquoise, dark green, mint green and purple. Romanticism as an authentic urgency to show oneself for what one is, not a garrulous ostentation of how one would like to appear.
Authentic rebellion has a grace. It does not scream, it is a state of mind.
#ValentinoMenFW1819
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2018-19, VALENTINO, VALENTINO FW 2018-19
Tue, February 20 2018 » Fashion Blog
“I wanted to make a collection about pure creativity, so we started by asking some kids to draw their idea of clothes. The naive shapes were enlightening when brought to life. It was a jumping off point for a fresh way of thinking about fashion.”
– Jonny Johansson, Creative Director
A collection of experiment and wearability in menswear, with a new eye on wardrobe staples. Throughout, vivid colours such as blues and reds sit alongside muted tones of camel and grey. Striped, loose knitted tops have extended sleeves and a large patch pocket at the hem. 2D square bodied sweaters are made from just two panels, following a child’s imagined idea of a knit.
Single breasted tailoring is pressed with new body, with creases placed away from the usual. Pants are cropped and slightly flared, the cut-out pockets with bonded hems. Wools are woven with synthetics to create textures like terrain. The fabrics are used on snap-fastening duffels, either full body, or as a panel across the shoulders of a camel duffel.
Knitwear is key to the collection, and a focus for experiments. A snap-fastened cardigan combines natural and synthetic yarns with an elastic hem. Sweaters with wavy stripes mix richness of yarns, adding pop to homespun stitches. Checked technical cotton is bonded onto shearling for a zip-up jacket, the zip pleasingly chunky. Shetland wool single breasted coats are fastened with rubberised black metallic circles.
An oversized yarn twill is used for a boxy take on the denim jacket. Shetland wool is used for a V-neck, while camel wool cloth is cut to make a crewneck sweater. Fine crewneck sweaters have been embroidered in fluffy yarn with childlike motifs: a star, a rocket, planets.
Leather lace-ups have oversized eyelets that continue around the ankle, while hold all-bags use the terrain pattern of the collection. Necklaces have been knitted from metallic yarn.
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Tags: ACNE STUDIOS, ACNES STUDIOS FW 2018-19, FALL WINTER MEN 2018-19
Wed, February 14 2018 » Fashion Blog
“I focused on the most classic, almost passé item, drawn directly from the legacy and origin of the Lanvin man: the suit. What is a suit? Two pieces, a jacket and trousers, cut from the same fabric. I wanted to deconstruct this idea, using layering. For me, these combinations make a modern suit. I wanted to create a smokescreen. “
For Lucas Ossendrijver, Lanvin Menswear Creative Director, the season is all about where modernity and sartorial tradition meet. From the most classic English fabrics is born a brand new, hybrid and urban look. The shape of a suit is precise with no shoulder pads, a narrow waist, a broader back and ironed-in pleats. Here however everything has a different take: a finely striped coat has military jacket detailing.
The suit trousers worn with it, cut in the same fabric, are like combat pants: cotton inlay, gusseted pockets, velcro. A part-technical, part-suit parka jacket sports an asymmetric zip around the collar to reveal the detail of a shirt and jacket. Elements mix up in a new play on fabrics. Stripes and checks match and clash on the edge of abstraction. The shapes meld, only distinguishable thanks to a few contrasts. Urban details are many in this wardrobe that has been as meticulously produced as ever.
For Lucas Ossendrijver, a suit is also a form of camouflage. He toys with prints: animal outlines, plant, tree and flower patterns mix together, from the most natural colours to the most nocturnal, almost toxic. Inspired by outdoor wear, fleece jackets and coats are designed like big covers. Asymmetric knits are draped and worn with wide sleeve-shaped scarves.
Combat pants are combined with a soft, quilted leather bomber jacket. An entirely hand-painted shearling sweatshirt is worn over a suit. On a reflective leather parka jacket, the shearling-lined collar turns into a hood. Stripes, threads and studs, traditional and technical fabrics, military and urban details: everything is layered together without ever clashing…as if it was always meant to be.
The same research was carried out for the accessories. The soles of the shoes were developed in 3D whilst the sneakers have heat-sealed relief inlay. ID badges, worn across the chest, are in transparent lizard skin whilst the bags evoke map cases and lunch boxes. Jewellery is layered like lucky charms, in raffia or burnt straw.
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2018-19, Lanvin, LANVIN FW 2018-19
Tue, February 13 2018 » Fashion Blog
Synergy happens when several codes are unified in one new language. In his first menswear collection at Maison Margiela, creative director John Galliano joins together classic symbols of the men’s wardrobe by applying past and present house ideas into one forward proposal for a new glamour. An overcoat is hacked up into a jacket, a trench coat is spliced with a formal coat, while others are reduced to their core using the décortiqué technique.
The concept of dressing in haste, established in the Artisanal line, is at the core of the Fall Winter 2018 collection informing cuts. Humble menswear staples such as the greatcoat, the nylon sports jacket and the cable knit are re- positioned and collaged with sartorial heritage tailoring. Appropriating the inappropriate, an Aran knit cardigan appears in all-rubber. A navy bomber is flocked with shadow effects that imitate wear.
Introducing Artisanal pieces to the Maison’s menswear, a relaxed suit is cut on the bias, an innovative first for sartorial dressing. The show is presented on the backdrop of a synergistic glyph, a new symbol imbued with a positive message for the house and echoed in the décortiqué back of a Mackintosh coat. Known as the SMS, the Security Margiela Sneaker makes its debut alongside heeled men’s Tabi boots and menswear interpretations of the recently launched Glam Slam bag.
‘New comprehensions of glamour are the modern-day synergy of dressing; desires that bind us together across identities and wardrobes.’ – Maison Margiela
Materials
Fabrics native to the men’s wardrobe such as Harris Tweed, herringbone, flannel and a wealth of wools are contrasted by the artificial nature of rubber and poly-urethane. Polyester gabardine and nylon nod at sportswear while leathers and knitwear draw on menswear classics.
Technique
Tailoring takes centre stage, from sartorial 1940s silhouettes and military cutting to rare and mercurial bias-cutting using properties from the Artisanal line. Transforming traditional tailoring, staples from the men’s wardrobe are spliced or hacked up for new expressions. Maison Margiela’s term for cutting up a garment to its frame, the technique of décortiqué is applied to coats and knits. Rubber is moulded to imitate knitwear. Flocking simulates shadow play, while pigment print adds painted-over effects.
Palette
Drawing on the traditional men’s and military wardrobes, black, navy, charcoal and melange grey set the tone for the collection. The muted colours are interrupted by Klein blue, red, bright yellow and orange, hinting at the palette of sportswear. The presence of white cements the Maison Margiela signature.
Accessories
Rooted in heirloom jewellery, rhinestone chokers and military buttons worn as brooches correspond with the memory of medals, cast from rubber moulds. Bracelets and belts are graphically coloured in leather, foiled leather and transparent PVC. Chains appear as belt and necklaces, while one necklace carries a cravat as medal. The collection introduces the SMS, the Security Margiela Sneaker: a steel- toe-capped trainer with a vibram sole, in white, black, red, yellow and blue. The puffa slipper is constructed in waterproof cordura nylon with a crêpe gum sole, while décortiqué cowboy boots and the Tabi – flat or with a six-centimetre heel – underline house codes.
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2018-19, MAISON MARGELA FW 2018-19, MAISON MARGIELA
Tue, February 13 2018 » Fashion Blog
Wed, February 7 2018 » Fashion Blog
Overt/Covert
Clothes help bind us to our gender. They define us. But confine us? For Fall Winter and Pre-Fall 2018, Moschino teases, tests and twists the conventional boundaries of masculine and feminine in search of re-evaluation, liberation, and stimulation. Jeremy Scott says: “For this collection I wanted to play around with the idea of mixing masculine and feminine in an assertively subversive way. So as well some overt dress codes of gender – maybe pent-up pinstripe suiting for her, florals, lace and frou-frou for him.”
For Pre-Fall Moschino’s womenswear collection, Scott’s story features the firm smack of fetishised discipline; tailored jackets and pants, a dress, a white men’s shirt, and a parka all worn under PVC body-stockings and gimp masks. Some of these pieces are decorated with safety-pin attached patches on which words in tabloid font shout suggestively; “STUD”, “FETISH”, “X-rated”, “SPANK”, “PLEASURE”, “PAIN”, to name a few. Other pieces – like a Hepburn-perfect green tweed coat – come apparently unadorned until you investigate the attached corset on the back. Spaghetti-strapped, lace-edged black slip dresses are teamed with a tabloid-patch high-cut bomber jacket or tricep-high PVC gloves that gleamingly highlight the articulation of the limb.
A nuanced feminine overture sees Scott set on the appropriation and reprogramming of some of masculine clothing’s most fixed formal algorithms. The cummerbund is retooled as the center of gravity for a fitted black dress, teamed with a high-fronted tail-coat whose tails morph into button-holedold-school men’s suspenders. Suspenders – clipped and elasticated this time – are similarly deployed as unexpected masculine accents to hold up the bodice of a PVC booted bad-girl-show-girl look. Pinstripe or plain black tuxedos, reduxed and recut, are smokingly subversive; cut-away panels, inverted double armholes and midriff-hinting high waistcoats undercut the externalised language of formal masculinity with feminised depth. A pinstripe jacket is slashed apart across the sternum and held aloft – along with the bodice beneath it – by more suspenders.
One overtly decorative element is a series of pretty-silhouette dresses in often pleated printed silk crepe. The twist? Those prints, often abstracted by the in and out folds of the fabric, reproduce the sensually illicit Polaroids of Italian furniture designer Carlo Mollino. As well as a fiercely independent designer, Mollino had a secret passion for photographing always-anonymous one-time-only models in poses of apparent wantonness – here Scott takes these male-gaze made erotic images and reappropriates them for the female wearer.
The almost – but-not-quite – crescendo for Pre sees a series of archetypally feminine gowns in maroon velvet or black silk played against a black strapless gown that features a bias cut train cut in the shape of an enormous black satin glove.
Just as Scott articulates his much in his female looks via a language conventionally deemed masculine, so he inverts the process in Moschino’ s Autumn Winter 2018 menswear collection.
Here the story features with less slap, more tickle. Mirroring Pre, we see those tabloid-font patched parkas and tailored pieces reissued, all worn below equestrian helmet-caps that whisper of the riding crop. Tailcoats are cut away at the shoulder and then held up by suspender. The bad-girl-show-girl look is mirrored in an ensemble of tailcoat (whose tail is feminised with soft gather and fold) cummberbund, and black PVC underpants. An artificially unfinished pinstripe double breasted jacket is delivered with just one breast, to be worn jauntily off-the-shoulder. Tailcoats and tailored pants come in ditzy floral, while in outerwear more conventionally masculine fabrics – gray tweed, russet wool – are lent a jolt of gender-fluidity via the insertion of panels and trains in floral or jewelled boucle at the back.
Moschino woman and Moschino man come together – conjoined by a tandem tuxedo jacket built for for two and linked at the tail. Apart yet together. Mutual objects of opposition and attraction. Women and Men.
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2018-19, MOSCHINO, MOSCHINO FW 2018-19
Wed, February 7 2018 » Fashion Blog
Breastplates and armors straight out of fiery battles. A medieval, romantic and dark atmosphere inspires Les Hommes epic Fall Winter 2018-19 collection. Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch embark on an adventure across castles and coats of arms that does not fail to portray the urban modernity cherished at the heart of the brand.
The collection is rich in fabrics and finishing. Oversize coats and shearling jackets are covered in details. Knitwear takes center stage with contemporary sweaters replacing sweatshirts even in everyday looks; silk jacquard with heraldic graphics reinterpret traditional camouflage and features coats and suits that enhance its richness.
Recalling the harsh spirit of the armors, the focus on quilting and embroideries prepare men to their daily battle out in the city. Woolen cloth pants display oversized proportions. Evening jackets shimmer and elegantly reiterate the spirit of the collection. Relaxed shapes and wearability give the looks a cool daywear attitude. The silhouettes are rounded, extra large, straight forward and rely on extreme layering.
The color palette includes plenty of dark tones, ranging from black to autumn shades of olive green and brown and worn in an allover style. Accessories suggest references to the chain mail of ancient armors with helmet-shaped maxi pendants and elbow-long gloves with buckles and laces. Metal “LH” initials embellish baseball caps and ties.
All-white sneakers offset ultra dark looks.
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2018-19, LES HOMMES, LES HOMMES FW 2018-19
Sat, February 3 2018 » Fashion Blog
A journey, a serene escape. Sunny places, some at times desolate, ablaze with light. Straight roads, motels, bars. Cleaned out like containers of a reflection. A flight forward to leave behind overworked meanings, weighted down by habit and use. A solitary road trip, traveling at a constant speed, no fast acceleration or abrupt braking, taking the position of an observer.
«It’s a collection of clothes that I like to call classic, basic, essential, necessary. It’s a vision of menswear that casts off the standardized definitions of recent decades and with the same elements creates a totally new dictionary and ergo wardrobe. That’s why I thought of basics that correspond to classics, all without limiting the clothes to the type of use deriving from standard definitions and meanings. I hope with this to compose a new way for men to dress, one free from the arrogant trappings of male dominance,» says Alessandro Dell’Acqua, creative director of N21.
Finding inspiration in an open reference to sunny California landscapes, the collection aligns the basics of a classic wardrobe: melton coat, straight pants, caban jacket, parka, sweaters, jeans, stripe shirt. Yet all the pieces undergo a transformation for they are rethought in the light, at once metaphorical and real, of a consciously-sought renewal, of a mode of dress that goes beyond both the rules of habit/social ritual and the rules of fashion/styling buzz.
The parka in tartan plaid or in heavy cotton has a plush padding. Knits deconstruct into thick bulky sweaters or into part-mohair part-chiné wool gilet vests. The shiny nylon bomber jacket plays a put-together game and shows up on the sleeves or back of a sweater. Stripe shirts sport small postcard appliqués or allover prints and crumpled effects.
Light melton coats have raw edges or neoprene linings, cabans color-contrast piping. Fine ribbons and bows serve for hugging shirt collars and pant belts. Bleached jeans are worn with shirts in the same fabric, for a fresh take on the Texas tuxedo. Classic style shoes and boots in leather or ponyskin get tweaked with a running sole. The plain or plaid nylon pouch-bag ideally captures a dynamic, practical nonchalant attitude.
This is a very self-aware young man made up of multicultural experiences, so much so that he is able to easily handle an American varsity image that while inflecting Ivy League composure factorizes an imaginative, typically Italian cultural adventure. To build a new masculine culture more attentive to the nuances and circumstances of life, to fashion that takes shape again and again over time.
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2018-19, N°21, N°21 FW 2018-19
Sat, February 3 2018 » Fashion Blog
Field notes. Collecting impressions and sensations. Connecting sights, flavors and sounds. Intuitively.
Traveling across worlds: with or without moving. Spontaneously, automatically. Wrapped in a blanket, Masai sandals at the feet. Protected under overblown duffle coats. Enjoying the childlike pleasures of home-spun jumpers.
An innocent gaze, keeping the inner child alive. A plurality of stimulations, shaken and not stirred. In a lab, with a boilersuit. On the field, in a smoked and printed duvet. In the rain, in gigantic anoraks. Spoonfuls of zabaglione to strengthen the spirit with a sugar rush.
Detours along the lines of notebooks, diaries and states of mind. Slicing thoughts, cutting them up and putting them back together. The boldness of immediate gestures. Decorating oneself with little charms. Pushing a knitted cap on the head. Pulling neckties askew.
Journals intersecting journals, notes over notes of accumulated experiences, worn. Each object, a dot. Each eye, a path. Chinese brocades, Indian ikats, African stripes, English tweeds.
Naïveté and wonder. Surprise of proportions and disproportions. Micro, macro and everything in between. S, M, L, XL, thrown together randomly. Big feet and bigger sneakers. Frank Navin drawing over the surfaces parallel worlds inhabited by animals and objects.
Knowing no boundaries or distinctions. Accumulating endlessly, compulsively. Following no principles as the only principle. Heralding intuition as a state of bliss.
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Tags: FALL WINTER MEN 2018-19, MARNI, MARNI FW 2018-19
Fri, February 2 2018 » Fashion Blog
Snowriting
The brutalist premises of the Università Bocconi are invaded by snow, upon which models leave footprints, writing graphic paths as they stride. This engaging situation stems from SNOW, a collection of photographs of frozen landscapes created by artist Thomas Flechtner, who has been actively involved in the creation of the show space, giving a surrounding three-dimensionality to the eternal man vs nature dialogue.
Sartori keeps perfecting the path he has defined for Ermenegildo Zegna since his arrival at the creative helm, devising a modular wardrobe that seamlessly fuses sports and tailoring, indoors and outdoors, keeping the Zegna Couture quest for excellence as a frame. The silhouette is sharp yet soft. Geometric necklines and the carved ‘n curved lapels characterize the upper part of the body. The sense of precise ease is captured in the new ‘one 1/2 breasted’ construction: halfway between single and double breasted, it is used for jackets as well as coats with a nonchalant élan.
Traditional categories are mixed up and reshuffled. The duvet takes the form of a wool anorak, knitwear doubles as outerwear, while matching blousons and trousers are a rapid substitute for the suit. Painstaking intarsia draw details such as pockets directly onto the fabric: an expression of virtuoso pragmatism that carries in the jacquard fabric. Neckties make an unexpected appearance, worn as double-knot scarves. Throughout, adjustable hems give trousers decisive practicality, underlined by the sturdy mountain boots.
Fabrics are precious and supple: cashmere jacquard, compact mohair, brushed alpaca, wool and cotton corduroy. For the first time, even the brighter tones are present on the new Oasi Cashmere, which features an innovative sustainable dyeing process exclusively developed by Lanificio Zegna, where colors are obtained only from natural elements such as flowers, herbs, wood, leaves and roots, reflecting the principles and values of the Oasi Zegna. Also the color palette is inspired by the Oasis’s environment: a mix of neutral tones of edelweiss white, pebble grey, birch beige with notes of vicuña, bulb red, pine green and dashes of crocus purple, chanterelle yellow, azalea orange.
In keeping with the morphing of categories, “XXX”, as symbol of the manual craft of Ermenegildo Zegna Couture, is used extensively as a jacquard or a logo on clothing and accessories such as technical leather bags, backpacks and shoes, while PELLE TESSUTATM – the exclusive Zegna woven leather fabric – comes for the first time in herringbone patterns on briefcases and bags.
“I am interested in expanding traditional techniques, creating hybrid shapes that are apt for new uses, getting contemporary function out of traditional craft” says Ermenegildo Zegna artistic director Alessandro Sartori “We work around sartorial neologisms, which this season I have labeled with another neologism: Snowriting. Formal merges with informal in a sublime snowy scenario.”
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Tags: ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA COUTURE, ERMENEGILDO ZEGNA COUTURE FW 2018-19, FALL WINTER MEN 2018-19
Thu, February 1 2018 » Fashion Blog
