Jean Paul Gaultier SS15. Photo: Gregoire Alexandre.
Last week Paris chimed with freedom, leading the Menswear S/S 2015 collections on a journey through time, fusing youth rebellion with surf and graffiti. Paris’s cutting rooms were all about creating movement, though it was less directed at how a man moves in his clothes and more towards what his body alone is capable of withstanding. Embroidered mesh second skins and wetsuits bound couture with performance and trompe l’oeil graphics were refracted in a playful and radical way that, despite their lust for youth, showed the physical strength to build and dismantle structures. Here, we present some of our favourite shows from the week. Read the first part of our Paris Menswear Week roundup here.
Yohji Yamamoto SS15
Yohji Yamamoto
At the Yohji Yamamoto SS15 show, there was no shortage of would-be classics. The show began with fabrics that looked like Japanese tapestry prints. What followed were looks in progress. There were loosely hanging denim shirts in indigo blue, layered or sliced, a new mode of deconstruction. Fabric printed with paintbrush strokes extended the feeling of this technique; the strokes never quite filled up the garment: unfinished business. A sign on a model’s back sought a lost pet who was very jealous and only answered to her master: difficult bitch. The penultimate look of the show, a brown ensemble with black prints, looked like a slightly muddy road with traces of oil spill, or tire tracks. Coming? Going? Both? The marks could have been on any country’s roads. Then the model turned around and there was a sign on his back in Japanese characters. The designer took his bow wearing a t-shirt with a sign for a “Missing Dog”– but we’d already been informed where to find him.
agnès b. SS15
agnès b.
The agnès b. consumer will have a supply to choose from next Spring, all of which can be mixed and matched together. The collection, straightforward down to the shoes, easily accomplished its goal of providing the consumer with his demand: primary, basic pieces with a French name. The odd, single piece broke from that classic sportswear silhouette – a pair of lowcrotch jeggings – and provided an opportunity for the brand to push its designs further.
Jean Paul Gaultier SS15. Photo: Gregoire Alexandre.
Jean Paul Gaultier
This SS15 Gaultier man goes back to his roots with daisy prints, reminiscent of the 1990 portrait of the designer holding a bouquet of the flowers with a sky blue background by artists Pierre & Gilles. This time around the daisies are a reinterpretation from a Gaultier dress from the mid-nineties. They’re called “Dripping Daisies” and the flowers seem to melt against a black background. The collection also includes silk kilts with hieroglyophics prints, corsetry lacing on a dark peach sportscoat, apron shirts and studded black clogs. The collection is fun, sophisticated and feels highly inspired. Not least of all, it has the range, spreading all the way from romantic to sporty.
Julius SS15
Julius
Designer Tatsuro Horikawa went a little sleeker this season, his intended poetry no less romantic, but shown with a sharper edge. There was a paring down in softness compared to previous seasons’ collections, from the absence of cowl necks and enveloping blouses down to short white hair standing on end. The designer seems to make sense of his fashion with a need for formulas and this season was no different: black and white ensembles, cloned models and uniformity remained.
See more of our favourite looks from the shows below.
Text by Ria de Borja
Want more Paris Mens SS15? Check out the first part of our Paris Menswear Week Roundup.