Day 5 at Paris Fashion Week Menswear


Well everybody it's the last daily blog upload for another six months. I hope you enjoyed everything I've had to say, it's been a pleasure these past three weeks. If you want to read my post from earlier on, a single review on Saint Laurent here's the link below... http://www.thewolfofhighstreet.com/2015/01/saint-laurent-paris-fall-2015-pfw.html
Anyway what I have in store for you all now is the incredible Thom Browne, the cool and edgy Lanvin and the "young" hip gentleman Paul Smith. So let's get going then shall we?

Paul Smith
Paul Smith has been designing since the age of twenty-four, and it's been a whopping thirty-nine years since he showcased his first ever menswear collection in Paris (1976) It's his humour and quirkiness mixed with traditional tailoring that has made the Paul Smith label as successful as it is. This collection began when Paul Smith took his young London-based design team to the warehouses in which he houses all of his archives. There's no wonder he has warehouses (Yes plural) if he's been designing for that long. This collection was heavily influenced by the seventies, although it wasn't until later on in the collection that this became apparent. What I do like is that he more than likely didn't just copy off of something he done thirty or so years ago, it was much less literal than maybe some of the past few weeks. Smith couldn't have reflected on his design philosophy any better when saying "The skill of being a designer is to have a very childlike outlook on life." Paul Smith knows this and that's also why I think he remains to be a success. It means his collections are never trying too hard nor lacking any technical skill. The oversized checks I thought were great, especially in that crossover neutral/pastel palette. The high-waisted trousers also worked especially well I thought also as did the retro triangular prints on T-shirts. Stripes are iconic to the brand and it remains a mystery to me on how he can rework them each season. Before we leave it, let's face it Paul Smith will never loose his coolness no matter what age.



Paul Smith

Lanvin
Alber Elbaz and co-designer Lucas Ossendrijver also looked to the seventies as inspiration for his latest menswear collection for Lanvin. The collection presented yesterday was predominantly grey which again was a nice casual but not boring take on such a bold decade, like Paul Smith it was neutral and I guess a much needed change or contrast alongside shows from earlier on in week in Paris, Milan and London a few weeks ago. Still remained oversized shapes and high waisted skinnies and flares. Ossendrijver admitted that the collection was split into three sections: The first focused on uniform, military jackets and coats in glen plaids, tweeds and pinstripes. The second was when they focused on print, eccentric layering and finally they moved onto what was described as the future, dark with a metallic edge. Not only did it have these references that I just vaguely described, it also touched on the streets of paris now, full of soldiers due to the awful attacks earlier in the month, and creating a sense of protection to the clothes. It doesn't really matter how you describe what happened, it's always going to bring you close to tears. Deepest thoughts still remain with everyone affected as I'm sure it is for others. Anyway moving on, my favourite pieces included those coats, the fur, oversized T-shirts and those boots, some of the best I've seen over the last few weeks full of menswear fashion.



Lanvin

Thom Browne
Thom Browne is honestly one of the most exciting designers out there today. I don't think theres any other designer of today that comes as close as he does with innovation and smart design. No one creates volume and shapes like he does and he always create an extravagance in his runways. Something I think has been lost in fashion lately because there is just not as much fun or risks taken anymore. It's Thom Browne's theatricality, which I think could rival the runways from both Alexander McQueen John Galliano. So credit to him in every sense for his risk taking. This season, Browne only read the title of an exhibition closing down held in the Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. The exhibition that closes down next week actually is entitled "Death Becomes Her: A Century of Mourning Attire" and he refused himself access to viewing the show. The title he felt was inspirational enough. Mourning to Thom Browne conveyed something beautiful, romantic, rich. "I had notion of how there is respect for people who have passed" and he even came up with a scenario about a character named Michael, a self-contained individual who lives and dies in complete harmony with himself, and is then honoured in death by his friends and relatives. That to most people may sound crazy, but if you know of Thom Browne then not so much. Another collection in reference to the dark atmosphere placed over Paris this month? This is like the fifth collection reflecting on what happened and that just shows how powerful what happened was. The entire collection had an overall sinister feeling to it, extremely haunting collection. From faces covered in lace or just plain black sheer material, leather gloves and Lincoln-worthy top hats and umbrellas...I was just in shock to how strong this collection was. Not a lot of shows have left me feeling this connected to fashion. And for the last time, here are my favourite looks from the show.



Thom Browne

Well guys and dolls that is it for yet another season. I'm going to leave you with a major question, What was your favourite collection from London? Milan? and Paris? Trust me it's not going to be easy. Anyway join me back this Friday for my first of scheduled weekly blog. Just to remember, I wouldn't be as happy as I am with my blog if I didn't have the support from all of you who read it, you know who you are. So thank you I guess.
The Wolf of High Street
xxx


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