Paris Men’s Fashion Week (Instagram) for the spring-summer 2024 collections took place, according to the official calendar of the French Haute Couture and Fashion Federation, from June 20 to 25. Opened by Louis Vuitton’s global show under the artistic direction of Pharell Williams on Paris’s Pont Neuf, a historic monument whose cobblestones were repainted gold, the week began “Happy” and sunny. After the ultra-feminine collections seen in Milan a week earlier, the collections shown in Paris confirmed this delicate trend, but through a quirky military genre, as demonstrated by the LV collection with its camouflage checkerboards, or “Damoflage”, a neologism coined by the house.
On June 22, it was Givenchy’s turn to announce its colors. The LVMH brand, under the artistic direction of American Matthew Williams, presented a collection at the crossroads of uniform and streetwear. “The idea is to explore our discovery of the elegance embodied in the school uniform,” explained Williams. “A dual symbol of democracy and constraint, the uniform is the backdrop for adolescent personalization. Textured knits, shrunken sweatshirts and polo shirts, round-necked or cut at the hip play with ideas of outdated proportions and self-adaptation, framed by formidable overcoats. Underlining a new formality, school suits are worn under technical jackets created with heightened craftsmanship, from floral embroideries from the Givenchy archives, sometimes enhanced with hand-encrusted crystals, to a yellow and black construction made entirely from ultra-lightweight calfskin,” adds the manifesto. The silhouette evolves into an exploration of men’s wardrobe essentials, enhanced by technical details and luxurious textures. Suit shoulders are square but not oversized, buttons are magnets. Jewellery pays tribute to Hubert de Givenchy by adapting orchids, one of the founder’s favourite flowers.
The following day, Fashion Week saw Dior make history with a momentous show. The artistic director of the men’s collections, Kim Jones, who was celebrating his fifth year at the head of creation, had a giant ultra-futuristic cube installed in the courtyard of the École Militaire in Paris. No exit, no backstage. Guests expected the models to appear through the entrance, but they emerged… from the ground! Thanks to a set of moving hydraulic platforms, the models paraded and then disappeared into the ground as quickly as they had arrived. “From Yves Saint Laurent silhouettes to Gianfranco Ferré embroidery, from Monsieur Dior cabochons to Marc Bohan textures. A collage of pop influences and iconography takes shape(s) in a garden of “flower-men”, embracing both tradition and subversion: from feminine to masculine, from salon to street, from the New Look to New Wave” explains the manifesto of this tribute collection, which reinterprets the great moments in the creative history of the house. Through these stylistic biographies, dominated by the influence of Yves Saint Laurent, Dior’s successor before he devoted himself to his eponymous brand, emerges British tailoring in dialogue with women’s haute couture, pop influences and plays on the cane motif.
On the penultimate day of the Parisian Fashion Week, Loewe presented a sumptuous interpretation of menswear. The artistic director of the men’s collections, JW Anderson, known for his “cerebral elegance”, chose a large rectangular hall in the Garde Républicaine, a martial place if ever there was one, to present a collection full of crystals, (very) high-waisted pants and oversized tops. The halter-top collection followed the trend announced by Haider Ackerman with the red jumpsuit worn by Timothée Chamalet, which created a buzz at the Venice Mostra in September 2022. The empty room, simply adorned with three sculptural bronze fountains by artist Lynda Benglis that punctuated the show, heralded a work on perception and perspective. “Lengthening, gesture and the exploration of fabrication transform the simple into something less simple, the subtle into the bold. Blazers, coats, banker shirts, knitted polo shirts, twin-sets, argyle knits, jeans and chinos make up the collection. This apparent simplicity deceives the eye, but it is diverted and turned upside down. Crystals invade entire surfaces, like filters, or meticulously designed stripes. Gestural cuts transform the body into a construction. Shoes are transformed into pants, giving the impression that the fabric is emerging from the ground,” states the manifesto.
On the same day, at the Palais d’Iéna, Hermès was more subtle than ever under the artistic direction of Véronique Nichanian, one of the few female designers responsible for the men’s collections. “A collection as gentle as a summer breeze, animated by a tender strength. Clothing as architecture. The allure is built, light, between days and hours. The pieces reveal themselves, in the innovation of a cut, the caress of a relief, the nuance of a colour or the audacity of a superposition and a volume. The silhouette lives, comes alive with these clothes that we inhabit”, said the house. The pieces are declined in a mineral palette with fresh tones: desert, steam, icicle, sage. The famous mosaic motif of the brand’s flagship, 24 rue du Faubourg St Honoré, is echoed in perforated details. Shorts, short trench coats, elongated jackets, narrow, rolled pants, worn with ball jackets, loose knits and heavy silks, reflective technical fabrics, herald a serene, joyful summer. Come summer 2024, the air will be fresh, the allure sensual and the optimism deliberate.
The main trends of the men’s collections in Paris were the predominance of yellow, signature flip-flops worn with socks, accentuated nudity, notably with low-cut tank tops and open backs, and a military style, reinforced by camouflage interpretations, a masculine archetype that has become increasingly relevant with the warlike atmosphere of our times.
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