Fashion Week Sees Suits Softened, Hems Cropped & Sweaters As Belts
Along with an unbearable heatwave, the latest fashions for men, too, have been rolling over Europe these past days, with no signs of stopping until after the coming weekend. Across Italy and France, everyone from powerhouses like Louis Vuitton to niche favorites à la Auralee have presented what they propose will be the wardrobe of the next spring/summer season.
We figured though, why wait so long to dress ahead of the curve, if there's already plenty of stuff to mine for sharpest-possible warm weather dressing? Upon identifying three recurring themes across the many different runways, we were lead to our friends over at Ssense to scout for examples of where and how next year's trends are already manifesting in current-day product.
Because judging by the looks of what we've seen half way through, some of the most common motifs pertained less to inherently new designs, and stuck closer to creative measures of rethinking and reframing known items, a clash of contrastive characteristics, and the embrace of supposed flaws...
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Sweaters & Scarves Switch Roles
The writing for this one really was on the wall — and in your inboxes, if you're a Shopper subscriber. If not, here's a refresh: Increasingly, designers have been employing the sweater less as a standalone top, and more as a device to accessorize an otherwise finished look. Resting idly over one's shoulders, or tied belt-style around the waist, the sweater is a pop of color and never not practical to have on hand, come (literal) rain or shine.
Similarly, silken scarves are about to show up in far more ways than men have previously been used to. Sure, you can wear it as ever, around the neck or head. Or you could pull a Ralph Lauren, and make it a poncho? What a journey, huh? From handkerchief to headliner.
"Is this thing cropped or shrunken?"
Though still jobless as far as we know, Hedi Slimane's presence was felt everywhere. Well, sort of at least, when taking into account the long, gangly, skin-tight constructions that stalked down the catwalks of Prada and Thom Browne.
Pants and jackets are so snug, and so awkwardly cropped in places, one cannot help but wonder whether they were accidentally subjected to a tumble dry treatment.
Suits Go Soft
Tailoring has always been the crown discipline of sophisticated menswear, and has long made its way into casual everyday clothes. But what it can take shape as today has little to do with church-goer conservatism or structured business armor. Suiting, according to the likes of Giorgio Armani and Jonathan Anderson's Dior, is going soft.
Do away with bulky deltoids or razor-sharp pleating, and enjoy a more slouchy relaxed fit, in lofty linens, airy and oversized. A guise more akin to what one might've once associated with a "beach wedding guest" uniform is snaking its way into regular attire — one elegantly aloof blazer at a time. Formerly serious clothes have never looked less serious.
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