Paris men's fashion week opened on Wednesday with a stellar lineup on its first day, including Carven, Valentino, Christophe Lemaire and Raf Simons.
Designer Raf Simons kicked off 5 days of Paris men's fashion with a collection making it clear he intends to make his audience work for his art.
Simons' desire for a bit of fashion democracy saw an all-standing crowd assembled in the mid-refurbishment shell of a space off Place Vendome, amongst peeling original features and lighting rigs. 'Raf-ficionados' were treated to a show bathed in red and green light with wispy-haired models rocking Japanese-print panel coats, mesh and knit tank tops, light-up sneakers, pool slides, and custom-made Stan Smiths.
Long denim shirts, layered tank tops showing off bulging biceps and tattoos and jackets with ID badge prints were teamed with narrow trousers and sneakers with flashing LEDs.
Models with long, brushed-forward fringes and long wisps moved about robot-like, starring straight ahead with dead eyes.
There was no such austerity at fellow Belgian Walter Van Beirendonck's colorful and eccentric "Whambam!" show, although an ability to suspend disbelief would have been useful.
Embroidered tail coats with pieces cut out and others left dangling from the back were teamed with wide cropped trousers, coloured sashes and big sandals.
Boiler suits in green and red, meanwhile, came covered in frills and military-style epaulettes.
Elsewhere, French designer Christophe Lemaire brought the fashion crowd back down to earth with a collection that was all about stylish workwear from big, breezy linen-cotton parkas to tapered trousers and shirt-jackets.
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
