Kenzo pays homage to Pierre de Brazza

Paris: Last season's grand stadium seating arrangements, large black curtains and gloss-finished elevated runway had all been stripped to reveal the bare bones of a massive concrete and steel Le Corbusier-esque post-war warehouse.
Firmly placed on the rugged and slightly dusty concrete floor were rows of modest wooden decked seats and hung high on either side of the elongated runway were oversized clear glass bottles filled with sand.

The back-to-basics setting reflected the usual careful attention to detail that Kenzo pays every year come Paris Fashion Week.

This year it was Italian explorer Pierre de Brazza who inspired designer Antonio Marras's spring-summer 2010 menswear collection.

The first sets of silhouettes to hit the catwalk were a series of crushed linen grey suits. They came in several variations: from double-breasted to three-piece, tapered leg to baggy shorts.

Accessories were minimalist; sandals, small round sunglasses, scarves, large bags and classic backpacks.

In between the Kenzo explorer looks Marras snuck in a series of modern takes on the safari suit to create ensembles that would look just as natural on Brazza in the African jungle (a century and two decades ago) as they would in the concrete jungles of any major cosmopolitan city today.

The modern explorer - thanks to a wave of new technology - looked groomed and refined while still maintaining a contagious air of adventure.

As to be expected from the Paris-based fashion house, the collection featured exquisite prints, mainly on T-shirts and cardigans.

The colour palette included off-white, ecru, natural hues, putty, pale pink and sky blue as well as sage green, military camouflage, indigo and Prussian blue.

The range of fabrics featured cotton, linen, raffia, braided leather and python. The collection also featured loose fitting, supple jackets, wide trousers (rolled up at the hem), long shirts and sheer leggings.

Brazza was the explorer with a big heart, the gentleman officer and the idealist who walked barefoot and unarmed with African kings.

At the end of a long walk with a few of his men on a night with a full moon, Brazza discovered the Congo River.

At Kenzo, the spring and summer collection saluted the brave spirit of the innovative explorer and inevitably, paid homage to his simple wardrobe.