Male, female styles mix with stars to cap Paris menswear
Male and female styles mixed with US television and music stars at Paris Fashion Week on Sunday for the final installment of fall-winter menswear shows as the City of Light prepares to notch up a gear for Monday's couture week. Here are the highlights: Lanvin stays edgy
Grey's Anatomy star Jesse Williams in a woolen coat and stylish calfskin shoes led the front row at the Palais de Tokyo morning show alongside "The OA" actor Patrick Gibson in a suede print Lanvin bomber jacket. The storied, yet edgy house, has hoped for renewed direction since last year's 10-year anniversary of men's designer Lucas Ossendrijver and the new creative director Bouchra Jarrar. Oversized, slouchy and elongated silhouettes defined the aesthetic - towing a fashion-forward line between shabby and chic. Double-breasted jackets came alongside baggy pants and student-like check sweaters with scruffily long sleeves. And there was more than a hint of irony in the air as models with blank expressions sported tight scarves with the word "NOTHING" written on.
Yet the fall-winter collection packed no huge surprises. If Lanvin was looking for a creative overhaul, this was not it. As ever, the looks were among the most perfectly executed on the Paris Fashion Week calendar. A golden brown coat sported delicate androgynous curved shoulders, and the merging of eclectic pieces in the same look was further proof of Ossendrijver's fashion mastery. Kenzo channels harsh environments
As if apologizing to the fashion press for forcing it to trek to a far-flung warehouse on the outskirts of Paris on a freezing Sunday night, Kenzo served up mulled cider. Thawing fashionistas clutched their Kenzo paper cups and marveled at the fascinating atelier decor, as did US singer and front-row attendee Kelela. In the center of the in-the-round runway, the backstage of the show was exposed in full view - seamstresses, models getting dressed, rails of coat hangers and make-up artists buzzing around. The theme was clear - rawness and exposure. The creative collection merged men's and women's designs and channeled clothes that would be worn in harsh environments and raw conditions. Two-piece hybrid skiing outfits - in raincoat yellow and winter blue - with hardy rubber boots opened the dizzying collection that comprised nearly 90 looks. Despite the long length, there were plenty of reasons to not get bored. Huge fluorescent bubbles jackets fused with multicolored blown-up Argyll check and were combined with beautifully incongruous tiger-print skirts. To try to make sense of it all, the program notes coined it "Hawaiian meets arctic." But too many looks, at times, spoiled the broth.