The Best Shows from Paris Men's Fashion Week
Which brands put their best foot forward for spring and summer menswear?
Another Paris Men’s Fashion Week is in the books. As I mentioned before, I was saddened to see the lackluster outfits throughout Milan Fashion Week. They paled in comparison to the what most of these same brands put together for Autumn/Winter earlier this year. Paris, however, was a palate cleanser and gave us some beautiful shows. Rick Owens, in normal fashion, decided to take things to another level, but it was a bit extreme for my taste so feel free to look up their runway after reading this. The following are all of my favorites, in no particular order.
Amiri
Is this one of my favorite brands? Yes. Is there a high probability that you’ll see me mention them in most of the fashion weeks in which they present? Also yes. Mike Amiri started his namesake brand in 2014 and has seen a massive rise in popularity over the years. Their fashion week debut was four years later and they’ve been a brand to keep your eye out for ever since. They kept the same 70’s aesthetic from last season but somehow found ways to make their pieces fresh and staged the runway to give it a different vibe. They featured a lot of jackets to say this was for a Spring/Summer collection, but having cream as the primary palate color and well-done color combinations probably distracted me from noticing this initially.
Drôle de Monsieur
Drôle is a brand some of you might not recognize. They’re not considered high fashion, but their quality pieces that you can find online or in store easily make them noteworthy. Their most known for their t-shirts, sweaters, and hats with the phrase “Not From Paris Madame” as their slogan, but they’ve done a great job with their elevated outfits. Rapper Freddie Gibbs was one of the models, which was a really cool surprise. Check out their flagship store in the Le Marais district the next time you’re in Paris. You won’t be disappointed.
Dior
Jonathan Anderson’s Dior debut received mixed reviews. While many of them are positive, quite a few people were underwhelmed with this presentation. My take is that yes, he did decide to play it safe, but he’s literally been there for three months, is in charge of 18 collections, and most likely already has September’s fashion week in the forefront of his mind (if he hasn’t started working on it already). All of the looks were very wearable and tastefully done. I think we’ll start seeing him branch out and increase his risk appetite as he gets more comfortable but this was a great introduction.
Issey Miyake
Issey Miyake’s pleated pants, shirts, shorts, and button downs have had a chokehold on the fashion community (myself included) for the last few years so I was really excited to see their runway this season. Titled “Dancing Textures,” this collection had everything from the scale patterns you see below to kimono-inspired looks. They also used this collection to announce their new footwear collection in partnership with ASICS called Issey Miyake Foot. They’ve really opened doors to up and coming designers as Japan begins to ramp up other brands to send to the Big 4 in Europe.
Kid Super
This show was by far one of the best in terms of storytelling. Kid Super’s creative director Colm Dillane recently wrote and published a book called The Boy Who Jumped The Moon. It features a young child who has a huge vision and makes his dreams come true. This show brought that book to life not only through the clothes the models wore, but they actually narrated it live as models walked the runway. They found really interesting ways to bring a whimsical element to elevated pieces. Very interesting to see what he’ll continue to do in the coming seasons.
Honorable Mentions
Some of my other favorites include Willy Chavarria and Sacai, who both had great collections but didn’t quite crack my top 5. Bode was really interesting because their founder and creative director Emily Adams Bode Aujla has decided to not have a full show every fashion week and instead pinned miniature versions of her debut pieces to small, handcrafted dolls. This was a fun, innovative way to show a collection without the massive time, money and lift it takes to create a show with human models.
Love some of these looks!