Rising star Will Poulter, who features alongside Leonardo DiCaprio in the Oscar-nominated movie The Revenant, led the list of front row celebrities on Sunday at Lanvin as the Paris menswear shows reached their final creative crescendo.
Here are the highlights of the autumn-winter 2016-17 menswear collections at Paris Fashion Week — including reports from Lanvin, Hermes and Paul Smith.
Lanvin
As Lanvin womenswear experiences seismic, identity-changing shifts with the departure of the hugely talented Israeli creative director Alber Elbaz — Lanvin’s menswear, under the care of Lucas Ossendrijver, seems to be doing just fine.
The Dutch-born designer once again channelled an ’80s vibe in a trendy, varied collection full of relaxed, loosefitting silhouettes. The slight shift in gear this season was Ossendrijver’s injection of some colour and his exaggeratedly voluminous pants, in the famed Oxford Bags-style.
Shoes in vivid jade green or orange contrasted nicely with his more muted clothes, often defined by multiple layers on coats with flowing shirts.
Lanvin is all about romance — even in menswear. There were some wonderful romantic moments — like a long swashbuckling belt or another look that almost evoked the poetry of John Keats with a ringlet hairstyle, loose, timeless red pants and a flowing blue jacket.
Saint Laurent
Saint Laurent’s collection — normally the grand finale of menswear in Paris — is not happening in the French capital this season.
The autumn-winter men’s show will take place instead in Los Angeles at the Palladium on February 10.
The surprise move was a last-minute decision announced unceremoniously this month — only adding to persistent rumours that there might be a top level change at the house first founded by Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Berge in 1961.
Still the hole in calendar on Sunday will at least give fashionistas a well-deserved coffee break as the city shifts into the haute couture season, opened by Atelier Versace.
Hermes
Contemporary yet classical — with a dash of the famed silk neckscarf. That’s the tried and tested Hermes moto, as seen in this autumn-winter’s stylish display that began in colour and ended in black.
Designer Veronique Nichanian — who’s been called “Hermes’ high priestess of menswear” — used pink umber, classic caramel and cream, blue with flashes of turquoise and dove grey to carry the start of the collection, which featured some beautiful, masculine statement jackets.
The French designer then threw out the colour wheel two-thirds of the way through the 47-piece-collection to introduce a more brooding, slimmer silhouette.
Leather — Hermes’ niche — was used sexily in sheeny pants, shoes and some perfectly cut zipper jackets. There was no great ground broken here, but it was a finely executed show.
Paul Smith
Paul Smith baptised the winter trend for colour on Sunday in the brightest collection seen this season.
The fearless British designer took classic ’50s silhouettes — such as suit jackets and coats with exaggeratedly wide shoulders — and injected his own brand of zaniness via an unusually vivid palette. Orange, bright red, vibrant vermilion and green mixed up with off-white, navy and electric blue.
Sometimes it worked. Sometimes it came off a little brash in the 32-piece collection.
A classic car coat came in green with a turtleneck in bright coral pink, baggy burgundy pants and a wacky orange belt. Elsewhere, a double-breasted check jacket and creased pants was given a lift with black-and-white speckled sneakers.
