Amidst a week of creative disruption, Lillie Eiger views the best of the Parisian men’s backstage for Document.
Dior Homme
Brooklyn-based artist Dan Witz leant a vicious air to Dior men’s line as swarms of young ravers mid-mosh stomped, photo-printed atop designer Kris Van Assche’s unforgivable suiting. Close to the chest, the tailored wear, outfitted with long leathers and new wage eyewear—an electo-gaze upward—was somehow planted in both the energetic past and in the here and now.
Christian Dada
Social subversion was on Masanori Morikawa’s mind this season. For Christian Dada‘s fall line, symbols of western culture—say, a blazer, a leather jacket, and even the Coca-Cola logo—were spun inside and out, only to be re-seen anew. Urban wear distorted with the disruption of loud foil, the layering—both physically and in printed text—created an effect of trend matched by intent.
Hermès
If last spring was marked by loud distinction—and in the canary-colored world of Véronique Nichanian, it certainly was—the present is much more subtle. Returning to Hermès‘ ethos of up-close-and-personal luxury, the collection offered nuances of rock ‘n’ roll in romantically soft silhouettes. Masculine leathers and relaxed cuts in stark blues, grays, and blacks, spoke too to this urban extreme in a soft yet commanding voice.
Off-White
What can be said of the political runway? Should we look to designers of agents of change or simply outfitters of the current time? Both, says Virgil Abloh, whose menswear collection this season looked inward as means toward growth. Titled Seeing Things, the designer’s youth-focused line saw the maturity of a new time. Advancing in concept and material, the collection gathered a sensitive eye over Abloh’s sportswear foundations. Oh, and plenty of mohair.
Lanvin
Following a milestone like 10 years last season, many questions come to mind. For Lanvin‘s menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver, momentum is certainly not one. A fashion collection with the nonchalance of Jerry Seinfeld, the house’s autumn line concerned itself with the concept of having no concept in the first place. All but barely branded (save for a satirical Nothing), the set, instead, focused on itself: incomparable technique for an unmeasurable time.
Études Studio
A collective typically concerned with hardness—skate culture, decisive lines, and deconstruction—Études Studio showed its softer side this fall with a weekender-inspired collection. Comfort was not just king—but the total sovereign rule—as oversized, handmade knits walked beside duvet shawls and mumu-sized sweaters, colored brilliantly in digital florals. Joined by glimpses of pop art and prints from the likes of Matthew Chambers and Dike Blair, the cozy line was a cocoon of warmth.
Pigalle
Triumphant colors and grand materials wrestled with each other in Piaglle‘s commanding collection for fall. But rather than a battle to steal the spotlight, the effect was one of beautiful choreography: each playing off the other in synchronized form. In this tug-of-war, pieces of tradition—kimonos, workwear jackets, even the trouser pant—were taken, revived for something far more new.
Sacai
Recordings of William S. Burroughs introduced Sacai‘s Autumn/Winter 2017 collection, an arrangement of mixed references with the emotional purpose of something far greater. Color blocked textures seeped into each other as techno cameo delighted against forrest plaids. Outerwear—loose cardigans and heavy hunter jackets—anchored the set, with collars competing in size and form.
Y/Project
Outsider art has lately come into fashion, with the traditionally non-beautiful informing that of the objective nature. Glenn Martens tapped into the dichotomy of the rebellious form and classical attraction this season for a seedy set of concept-driven menswear. Proportion, Y/Project‘s engine, resulted in hybrid denim, nonconforming shapes, and a reclamation of symbology.
Facetasm
A hodgepodge of accoutrements, Facetasm’s Autumn/Winter 2017 collection was theatrical sportswear at its greatest. Rather than focusing on the sexy subtleties of menswear, Hiromichi Ochiai looked up. Bigger. Better! Layers were unstoppable, as fabrics flushed from in-your-face florals to shiny velvet.
GmbH
GmbH translates workwear-inspired uniforms for genderless club kids. The first runway presentation from the Berlin-based collective, this season continued this appropriation in a confident show with noise. Despite the rough edges, technical mastery was very much apparent with TPU plastic as the line’s particular spotlight.
