The Paris menswear show must go on...

PARIS: There was a subdued atmosphere at the first day of Paris Fashion Week menswear shows – which began in earnest following the French capital’s worst terror attacks in decades. The mantra was: “The show must go on.”

Designer Walter Van Beirendonck’s collection featured clothes with “Stop Terrorising Our World” emblazoned on the front, and showed that even in its elite bubble the fashion world isn’t completely immune to world events.

Actor Louis Garrel arrived late at Valentino and joined The Hobbit star Luke Evans and pop star Stromae in the front row.

The starting point was the 1920s’ Ballets Russes. The Russian movement’s famed founder Sergei Diaghilev worked with the greatest artists of the time, including Pablo Picasso, to create incredible costumes and sets. And in this menswear show, the Italian house drew on the strong, colour- rich geometry of these artistic collaborations – with a dash of the sixties.

Designers Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pierpaolo Piccioli produced an angular and pattern-rich display – with myriad references including Scottish tartan and the now-signature militaristic camouflage.

There were some enviable looks: like the luxuriant green and brown shot silken fitted suits, or the oversize statement coats.

Geometric patterns on sweaters and in fastidiously detailed coats, elsewhere, came across sometimes as sixties, and, elsewhere, as almost Balkan.

It further explored the current mania for ethnic-looking motifs.

Bold colours – mid-blues, golden brown and burgundy – set the patterns alight. But was the palette a tad too bold for the average Joe?

It was a confident collection from one of the rising stars in menswear, Julien David – that could be summed up as the 50s man gets sporty.

Broad and baggy suit jackets in charcoal gray and black were almost fit for 1950s screen legend Robert Mitchum.

But the smarter elements were broken up with the French designer’s signature love of casual.

Untucked white shirts alongside loose ties, lop-sided tie pins and scruffily open coats.

Hair bands, baggy shorts, shades, meanwhile, gave the collection a sporty edge. It was given more complexity with references to Japanese wardrobe, like Samourai straps or voluminous layers on a boxy silhouette. – Sapa-AP