Louis Vuitton adds a touch of Chic to men's fashion week
Louis
Vuitton brought a little bit of a Glastonbury line up to the
spring/summer 2016 menswear collections at Paris fashion week. Nile
Rodgers, the Chic musician and super-producer, introduced the show from
the DJ booth, while Kanye West, Marianne Faithfull and ex-One Direction star Zayn Malik could all be found among the crowd.
The show itself was less trip to Somerset than journey around the
world. With show notes referencing New York, Tokyo, Bangkok and Paris,
the collection was a dialogue between Asia and America – as if Ryan
Gosling in Bangkok-set Only God Forgives was the moodboard reference.
American staples came as crisp double-denim pieces, James Dean-style
jeans and bowling shirts with a luxe edge. A Gosling-approved shape that
has been dubbed the ‘souvenir jacket’ – a kind of slinky satin bomber –
had Thai embroidery of cranes, monkeys and panthers, while Japanese
Kobe leather was worked into flying jackets.
Branding was subtle but present in neckerchiefs and bowling shirts,
feeding into an overall vibe of refined sportswear staples elevated to
something slick. This was echoed by Rodgers’ soundtrack: well-loved hits
including Carly Simon’s Why and Madonna’s Like a Virgin masterfully
mixed.
Backstage, following a stellar photo-op flanked by West and Faithfull, artistic director Kim Jones
explained that he had been influenced by a luxury global style observed
from his travels. “There’s an easy, expensive-looking mood at the
moment,’ he said. ‘I’m quite a commercially minded designer, so I’m
looking at what our customers are wearing.”
A Rick Owens piece for the SS16 in Paris. Photograph: Guillaume Horcajuelo/EPA
That relaxed feel comes through in the branding. “We want to do it not in a tacky way, to make it feel chic,” said Jones.
LVMH, the conglomerate that owns Louis Vuitton, does not release
figures for menswear, but the group is in rude health. In February, it
was reported that profit jumped 64% and estimates put UK revenue from Louis Vuitton
menswear at £127m. Jones – who once lived with Lily Allen and counts
Kate Moss among his friends – has no doubt helped increase buzz around
the house’s menswear. The British designer joined in 2011 after working
with brands as diverse as Dunhill and Umbro, and this mix of influences
has proved key to his success.
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Earlier
on Wednesday, the mood on the catwalk was less disco and more punk. At
Rick Owens’ January show, models wore pieces that revealed their
penises, with much debate following. This time, the controversy didn’t
stem from Owens himself a model who held up a homemade sign to the
cameras at the end of the catwalk reading ‘Please kill Angela Merkel’, followed by the word ‘not’.
While the exact meaning was unclear, it put Greece debt talks on the
fashion agenda. Owens’ reaction, however, was more straightforward: the
designer issued a statement, saying: “This was an independent statement
and does not reflect the opinion of the house of Rick Owens.”
Owens would hope his collection – sleeveless leather jackets, slouchy
jumpers, shorts and headpieces that looked like wind socks made of hair
– would be the abiding memory taken away from this season. The stunt,
however, threatens to steal its thunder.
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