The moments that mattered at Paris’ Autumn/Winter 2020 menswear shows
Dior Men
This season, Kim Jones drew on the archives and iconography of visionary accessories designer, art director and fashion stylist Judy Blame, designing a collection that married his visual language with that of Christian Dior. The result was a collection of timeless elegance. “It’s a homage to couture Christian Dior with Judy’s take on it really,” Jones told us.
Dior Men Autumn/Winter 2020Photography Katja Stuckrath
Dior Men Autumn/Winter 2020Photography Katja Stuckrath
Louis Vuitton
In another one of the week’s blockbuster shows, Virgil Abloh presented his fourth collection for Louis Vuitton, delivering, in the house’s words, a study of the “evolving anthropology of the suit and the reprogramming of traditional dress codes”. Inspired by “guys you see on the commute”, the show finished with tailoring emblazoned with blue skies and fluffy white clouds.
Louis Vuitton Autumn/Winter 2020Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Louis Vuitton Autumn/Winter 2020Courtesy of Louis Vuitton
Rick Owens
You can always trust Rick Owens for some high-voltage fashion and he didn’t disappoint: this season, the designer served us Kansai Yamamoto for David Bowie in 1973, sending a series of one-legged jumpsuits down the runway, accompanied by his now-signature platform heels – all charged with an electric subversive energy.
Rick Owens Autumn/Winter 2020Photography Katja Stuckrath
Rick Owens Autumn/Winter 2020Photography Katja Stuckrath
Dries Van Noten
Tim Blanks once wrote that “fashion’s job is to remind us that beauty is a human need”, and that’s what Dries Van Noten’s shows do. The designer’s A/W20 collection felt true to that – it was, in short, achingly beautiful.
Raf Simons meanwhile delivered a transporting show inspired, in part, by Blade Runner – the music from which actually soundtracked the show, along with Bowie’s Life on Mars. Infused with sci-fi influences, the collection was an elegant exploration of youth culture – and quintessentially Raf.
Raf Simons Autum/Winter 2020Photography by Katja Stuckrath
Undercover
Jun Takahashi’s collection for Undercover was accompanied by a sublime, surreal performance by four dancers, choreographed by Damien Jalet – who, among countless other projects, worked on Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria. If you missed it, you can catch the full performance and show here.
At Loewe, Jonathan Anderson served up a “fantasy wardrobe” which represented his take on male glamour, both “scorched” and “opulent”. Featuring lamé dresses, crystal embroidery and mid-century couture silhouettes, it was exactly as Anderson said: a fantasy wardrobe.
Loewe Autumn/Winter 2020Photography by Katja Stuckrath
Loewe Autumn/Winter 2020Photography by Katja Stuckrath
Craig Green
This season, Craig Green made his Paris Men’s Fashion Week debut with a typically conceptual-yet-somehow-still-wearable collection about “transforming emotional baggage into uplifting wearables”, which was styled by Dazed’s executive fashion director Robbie Spencer. Among other things, he also explored the idea of packaging models in rubber tubing, like supermarket fruit, as well as showcasing explosive creations crafted from venetian blinds and printed chiffon. A great moment for a much-loved designer.
Spencer Phipps’ A/W20 ‘Treehugger: Tales of the Forest’ collection, styled by Another Man’s fashion director Ellie Grace Cumming, involved a timely collaboration with Smokey Bear: the icon of wildfire prevention, whose imagery appeared throughout the designer’s sustainable collection.
Pierpaolo Piccioli is all about beauty, as was made evident, yet again, at his A/W20 menswear show for Valentino. The show included a performance from FKA twigs who, dressed in a white Valentino haute couture gown, gave a spine-tingling performance of breathtaking beauty.
