A Recap of Paris Fashion Week

Paris Fashion Week is one of the most anticipated fashion events of the year. Recently we were able to see a lot of new creations by famous designers presented in a series of shows in the French capital.

The menswear collections were very interesting to watch, as styles, motifs and ideas mixed up and gave us an image of how designers convey their vision through clothes. In a similar fashion to what we saw at London Collections: Men, many of the designs were (or just tried to be) works of art in themselves, meaning that the designers used the medium (clothes) to express themselves, not thinking about the practical part of the outfit or of it’s wearability factor. This type of creations alternated with clothes tailored for the modern man, as some designers tried to take the beauty of simplicity and sophistication to a new level.

What’s also interesting to be noticed is that the new fashion shows tend to be “shows” by themselves. There are a lot of elements present that do not necessary constitute the subject of fashion design, the set and decor for example.

The collections alternated monochrome and neutral clothes with very colorful pieces, extremely baggy outfits with sharp tailored suits, and over the top designs and shows with extreme simplicity.

The fall-winter 2014/15 menswear collections were filled with classic fashion codes combined with artful, outstanding designs that reflect the variety of visions and directions found in our contemporary culture.

Let’s take a look at some of the designs presented at PFW by various designs and see what they were all about this year. Click on each picture to read the commentary.

The reason why Hermes is one of our favorite brands is because they always try to make the best of simplicity and push its limits. More simplicity equals more sophistication. In this year’s collection, Hermes placed bombers, parkas and rain jackets as the center of their discourse.

John Galliano’s collection featured a series of geometric legging, which reminded us both of medieval clothing as well as of a futuristic feel.

The explosion of brightly colorful patterms Issey Miyake’s creative director Yusuke Takahashi proposed, originated in his passion for minerals.

John Galliano’s pieces ranged from very colorful to neutral, but their shape and the attention for detail made them stand out.

Lanvin’s collection by creative director Alber Elbaz and men’s designer Lucas Ossendrijver is based on straight lines and surprising colors.

The Paul Smith collection reinterpreted Moroccan references and used flamingo’s all around, making it one of our favorite collections of the week.

Saint Laurent’s creative director Hedi Slimane filled her collection with cigarette trousers, tailored jackets and coats.

The Songzio collection was very interesting. One of the things they’ve done was to use boxy, loose shorts over leggings, which make them look almost skirt-like.

Thom Browne’s already world-famous elephant. The monochrome collection was like a dream that fulfilled the designer’s escapist wishes.

The designer of the Y3 collection, Yohji Yamamoto, described his creations as: “The collection is an homage to the couturiers of the 60′s. I wanted to infuse this spirit into it. I was also thinking of super heroes and the kind of clothes they wear. Cut for an active and fighting life style, so I brought these two worlds together.”

A very sporty outift from a very sporty collection by Umit Benan who showed his designs for the first time in Paris.

The Bill Tornade collection for the FW 2014/15 season is really one of our favorites as it pushed the limits of simplicity a step further. The lean silhouettes of the suits were mixed with tailored blazers with narrow lapels and very well fitted dress shirts.