Everything
The spotlight on menswear continues to gain momentum and is highlighted of course in the inaugural Men’s Fashion Week. As cult favourite designers and celebrities caused disruption within the industry – Virgil Abloh finding himself as Artistic director for Louis Vuitton and Kim Jones switching to Dior, along with the debut of Jacquemus – the results were not disappointing.
Taking a look back at Men’s Fashion Week for Spring/Summer 2019, here are the three top debut’s of the week – Louis Vuitton, Dior and Jacquemus.
Virgil Abloh for Louis Vuitton
Set along a gradient rainbow runway, Virgil Abloh *finally* debuted his first menswear collection for Louis Vuitton. After the announcement of his appointment back in March, his showing was one of the most anticipated runways of the week.
A diverse range of models from all parts of the world, walked down the outside of the famous Palais Royal. Breaking the boundaries of the French fashion house, Abloh infused each look with streetwear style in the form of collaborative sneakers, holographic pieces and utilitarian features. The runway started with a cleansing of all-white looks, followed by soft colour blocking, bright colour and finally progressing with bold print. The most popular garments however lied within a collaboration with Wizard of Oz, featuring two knitted sweaters and a silk shirt.
All-in-all, the collection proved that even those without formal training, but the right mindset can break (or make) rules in the fashion industry.
Kim Jones for Dior
As Dior continues to break ground with the ‘millennial’ or ‘street’ movement, the newly appointed Kim Jones made his mark with the debut of his first menswear collection for Dior. In keeping with the Dior brand DNA, Jones adopted classic tailoring along with the addition of prominent hardware and chunky sneakers for street edge appeal, while models marched amongst a giant KAWS sculpture.
The spring/summer 2019 collection took strong inspiration from the archives of Dior’s womenswear collections for the romanticism style seen throughout the new designs. Unstructured tailoring was recreated with intricate print and detailing, along with sheer material and soft hues of colour. To open the show, Prince Nikolai of Denmark walked amongst the runway, wearing a double breasted seersucker-style jacket, with sheer blue-white stripes on the sleeves. The whole collection applied a feminine edge to mens silhouettes, while each look was grounded with masculine accessories most notable, a range of hip-bags, belts and caps.
The debut of Jacquemus
Another highly excitable collection for SS/19, designer Simon Porte Jacquemus also debuted his very first menswear collection, on the beach side of his small hometown. Entitled ‘Le Gadjo’, translated as ‘non-gyspy’, relates back to the Mediterranean man, acting as his muse.
Despite his knowledge of the feminine form, Jacquemus has had an obstacle to overcome, designing a menswear collection, and his natural design aesthetic was seen with the use of more preppy shapes and pieces. Taking inspiration from the beach side, hues of blue and yellow, tropical prints as well as baggy pants and outerwear was a clear hero throughout the collection, along with matching minimalistic accessories.
While the adventure into menswear is no easy feat, Jacqueus pulled a range of wearable and crowd-pleasing looks.
