|
Top row: Versace, Versace, Vivienne
Westwood
Below: Paul Smith, Comme des Garçons, Gucci
You can read the Miu
Miu Menswear 2002 report here!
Fear. That's what struck at the heart of the spring/
summer 2002 menswear collections in Milan. Fear of recession: the
powerful US store buyers could talk of little else but the imminent
slow down of the economy. And so, inevitably, fear of creativity:
most designers went for a no-risk strategy by offering little in
the way of new ideas.
That's not to say there weren't some colourful
moments. When designers stick to what they know, it can bring out
the best and worst in them. Take Gucci and Versace. One of them
- no prizes for guessing which - offered bubblegum-pink leathers,
flowery chiffon shirts, lilac trousers with fan pleats down the
front, and peach lizard-skin shoes.
The other responded with ripped denims, luxurious
belted black leather jackets, classic pinstripe suits and practical
tan leather sandals. This was the subtext of the Milan menswear
shows: fun, high- octane campery in the pink corner, summed up by
the likes of Versace, and serious, low- key luxe in the blue corner,
put forward by Gucci. Clothes that would make the butchest man look
gay versus clothes - reality clothes - that any man, gay, straight
or whatever, would love to own.
Chasing the pink pound, as ever, were Dolce & Gabbana.
Despite the fact that theirs was a subdued show (no rhinestones,
glitter or gold this time), they couldn't help putting a few of
their well-toned models in black lace blouses or clingy sweaters
that plunged to the navel. After such effeminate whimsy, it was
difficult to take their macho theme of the biker seriously - though
this, with multi-coloured jacket and roughed-up leathers, later
turned out to be a massive trend in Milan.
Vivienne Westwood's clothes for men are nothing
if not sexually ambiguous. One look - a tight jumper piped with
ruffles, silky argyle cycling shorts, scarlet socks and suede buckled
ballet slippers, all topped off with a rhinestone choker - was hardly
screaming recession- proof. Though it was certainly screaming something.
Great, imaginative tailoring - part sweatshirt,
part pinstripe - was desperately trying to break out on the Fendi
catwalk, as was more colour and print, but somehow it kept being
squashed by yet another pair of faded jeans.
And what has happened at Jil Sander? Sander herself
walked out following her lethal spat with Patrizio Bertelli of the
Prada Group, which bought a controlling stake in her company last
year. And Milan Vukmirovic, the new incumbent, is in trouble. You
can't help feeling for this one-time retailer, saddled with such
an enormous responsibility. Jil Sander understood - and pioneered-
the seduction of withholding. Her suits, for which she was famous,
were utterly restrained in both detail and colour.
This collection blundered through colour like a
hyperactive child with a paintbox: salmon pink, post-box red, yellow,
tan, school-shirt blue. Lean shapes took their inspiration from
Helmut Lang, but lacked the Austrian uber- designer's stringent
control and his understanding of a life lived 24/ 7. Jil Sander
now looks like Next, frankly.
In Nicole Fahri's collection - one of the best
of the week - faded floral prints and a pretty ribbon design unfurled
across T-shirts, tailoring and knitwear. But far from looking remotely
effeminate, it simply added to the allure of a sexy, masculine image:
he who chucks clothes on without a second thought. Papery cottons
and silks in cool, neutral shades came creased and rumpled as if
they'd just been washed and pulled off the radiator. And everything
was beautifully aged. The collection was about as far away from
the prissy narcissism of the bubblegum-pink collections as you could
get.
So was Prada's, a confident collection that bridged
the pink and the blue and refused to play recession-safe. The stylist
behind the scenes is David Bradshaw, who is largely credited by
the industry as having turned Prada menswear into the highly credible
- not to mention hugely profitable - business that it is today.
Thanks to him, everything was just so. It was as if a traditional
gentlemen's outfitters on Savile Row had been plundered for inspiration
(neat, sobre grey suits) and then kicked into the 21st century with
a subversive injection of cool sportswear. It was pink, it was blue.
But most of all, it was creative.
Baggy outfits are on the male fashion agenda next
summer according to three Japanese designers showing in Paris this
week, while Tom Ford's second collection for Yves Saint Laurent
centred on a sleek, well-fitted silhouette.
Old-timer Yohji Yamamoto, whose first line appeared
at the beginning of the seventies, chose striking blue material
to accentuate the volume of his clothes as well as lots of tough
denim to contrast with flowing transparent cotton shirts covered
in delicate prints of Japanese ladies' faces.
His compatriot Rei Kawabuko (Comme des Garcons)
also chose a baggy look with her typical touches of non-conformity,
such as jackets with parts of the back missing and trousers with
different material for the front and back.
For his first collection, Junya Watanabe displayed
plenty of humour with bright colours and varied patterns. There
was also plenty of denim, due to a collaboration with Levi's.
On a sleeker note, tight-fitting chic and a wink
at the sixties were Tom Ford's offerings at Yves Saint Laurent.
Black, as usual, was the dominant colour for Ford who showed men
in suits and crocodile shoes at the Paris Bourse. The dominant fabric
was satin for both shirts and suits that had few patterns apart
from dotted lines and stripes.
Dior, Hermes and Jean-Charles de Castelbajac are
today showing their versions of next summer's outfits for men. Overall,
36 shows and 18 private viewings make up the summer 2002 men's collections
that take place in Paris from June 30 to July 3.
Read the report for Miu
Miu Menswear 2002 here!
|
