No: 17264 Friday, June 23, 2017

L i f e s t y l e

FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017

H

eat was in the air on the first day of Paris Fashion

Week menswear collections that showcased next

year's spring-summer designs. With the French cap-

ital baking in high temperatures, Wednesday kicked off 52

catwalk shows that will run over five runway-stomping

days. Here are some of the highlights.

Valentino's ethnic sportwear

There were almost enough professional basketball

stars to form a Valentino team at the house's menswear

spectacle. Serge Ibaka of the Toronto Raptors, the

Chicago Bulls' Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony of the

New York Knicks and the Houston Rockets' James Harden

all were on hand. Perhaps the Rome-based house had

sports in mind when compiling the guest list for the

thoughtful collection by designer Pierpaolo Piccioli that

put ethnic twists on sportswear.

Sneakers with thick North African-style threading were

imagined in a multicolored palette below a silken green

tracksuit with thick white Balkan-style seams. It was a

study in contrasts. Voluminous sport coats that riffed on

biker styles had subtly contradictory embroidery across

the shoulders and, in a highly stylish touch, embroidered

belts dangled from the waist. Layered white shirts were

given a twist with round collars and khaki-style baggy

pants were tapered in the Arab style. Valentino's designs

have become more focused since Piccioli started design-

ing solo a few seasons ago. Wednesday's collection was

one of his best yet.

Battle of the invitations

Another Paris season, another unspoken contest to pro-

duce the most eye-catching, and perhaps wasteful, show

invitation. Travel-minded Louis Vuitton evoked its signa-

ture monogram-laden travel case with its invite: a luggage

label adorned with metal eyelets and decorated colored

straps. US-born designer Rick Owens needed a special

courier to deliver his huge catwalk ticket as it wouldn't fit

inside a standard mailbox. It was made of sheets of white

rectangular foam glued together and featured a small figu-

rative metal head of a warrior stuffed between the layers.

But the most inventive - and topical - invitation so far

this scorching summer season was produced by British

designer Paul Smith: a silvery pink plastic fish. The message

was perhaps that as temperatures reached 37 degrees

Celsius (98.6 Fahrenheit), fashion-watchers could use a dip

in the sea.

Lemaire's elegant color blocking

There was a light crispness and elegance to the clothes

of lauded French designer Christophe Lemaire. Never veer-

ing to the extremes, color blocking was handled with sub-

tlety - bright red with gray, black with white or dark red

and burnt orange. Loose, boxy blousons in cotton poplin

sometimes sported interesting Russian-style high necks.

Sumptuous baggy pants in wool gabardine had a touch

of masculine class with two pleats structuring the material,

capped with stylish sandals in calf leather. The designs

exuded a quiet confidence. And there's good reason for

the 52-year-old designer to feel confident. Since leaving

the design helm of Hermes after a highly successful four-

year stint, he has concentrated on his eponymous label,

Lemaire, and gone from strength to strength. Revenues are

reported to have tripled in just a few years.

Valentino headlines first day of 

Paris Fashion Week menswear 

Models present creations by Valentino, during the Men’s Fashion Week for the Spring and Summer 2018 collection in Paris. — AFP photos

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L i f e s t y l e

FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017

Facetasm seeks and finds

In a collection entitled "Seek and Find," Tokyo-founded

house Facetasm presented a visual and written manifesto

for how fashion can transcend social and cultural barriers.

Highly quirky - and often contrasting - styles were thrown

together in a celebration of non-conformity on models of

different genders, ages and ethnic backgrounds. The pro-

gram notes declared that fashion can unite people who

speak different languages and come from different cul-

tures and tribes.

"Fashion... can connect people who share the same aes-

thetic and value, transcending those traditional classifica-

tions," the program read. Thus, brightly colored school rug-

by socks, red velvet pajamas, blue punk hair, a pale plastic

raincoat, a loose black tuxedo, and voluminous layers of

printed cotton shirts tied at the midriff all filed past.

Facetasm has won plaudits for its conceptual styles and

Wednesday's show was quite the fashion statement.

Houses continue to show men in women wear week

Saint Laurent dominated day one of Paris menswear

shows in the past, but is now noticeably absent from the

calendar. The reason is that the storied Paris maison is opt-

ing to show its men's designs in September along with its

women wear collection. Another major house, Givenchy, is

doing the same. Although this choice has been criticized

by many, some believe it makes sense to group the sea-

sons together as the Paris calendar is out of synch chrono-

logically.

This June's menswear week kicks off the 2018 spring-

summer season, only to be followed next week by Couture

- which goes back to the season before and showcases

designs for fall-winter 2017. Women wear in the fall show-

cases designs for spring-summer 2018. Confused? You're

not the only one. — AP

Models present creations by Christophe

Lemaire during the Men’s Fashion Week for

the Spring and Summer 2018 collection in

Paris.

Models present creations by Rick Owens during the Men’s Fashion Week for the Spring/Summer 2018 collection.

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