FASHION WEEK RAMBLINGS F/W 16
by Eugene Rabkin
"This past men’s fashion week was marked by a sense of schizophrenia more than anything else. Half of the shows in Paris were held in opulent palatial spaces and the other half in basements stripped of everything but their concrete foundations. The reactions of critics and buyers were similarly split. The editors I spoke with mostly shrugged shoulders and talked of consistently lowering expectations, while buyers thought the season more than solid.
And this has been the leitmotif of the week – conceptually and aesthetically, shows left you wanting more, while in the showrooms plenty of good garments awaited.
Let’s begin with the shows then. My first was Haider Ackermann, held in Hotel de Ville. The venue brimmed with gold and so did the collection. I usually don’t mind Ackermann’s indulgences, but this time he went overboard with the ornament that bordered on crime. Typically, Ackermann offsets the gold brocade and velvet by the black striking a well-tuned balance, but not this time. Partly this might have been the fault of styling, as models were sent out in full bling mode, followed by a full monochrome look that couldn’t quite refocus your attention in time.
Taken apart at the showroom, however, the collection had plenty of desirable items. I love Ackermann’s shade of olive – he gets it just right, and there were several garments in that particular hue that spoke to me – a smoking jacket and an oversized coat.
Then it was off to Raf Simons. At his best, Simons makes you think, whether you like or dislike the collection, which is more than can be said about some other shows. Simons’ inspirations were quite obvious – moreso because he spelled them out for you on a sheet of paper. David Lynch, Martin Margiela, his own past collections. It was all youth, youth, youth – with over-oversized varsity sweaters, some worn as capes, and so on. Was it good? Was it bad? I still can’t make up my mind.
Next day I started with Rick Owens. His show, in the basement of Palais de Tokyo was a letdown. The super-wide pants (and it was the season of wide pants, didn’t you get the memo? Lucky, you who don’t subscribe to trend reports) were silly, too close to the raver pants from the 90s. The abbreviated double-breasted jackets didn’t help. The long hairy parkas were fine, and if you have always dreamed of being a purple yeti, you can pair them with some other hairy tops.
When I got to the showroom, things brightened up but not by much. There were fine knits and those hairy parkas and what not, but I know you know that I know you will be buying the greatest hits from the pre-collection come next fall. And this has become Owens’ thing – he can afford to go wild on the runway because he has built a stellar body of work that he has shifted into the pre-collection. Hurray for that – let the man experiment. Good or bad, it’s interesting.
Dries Van Noten’s show later that night was on point. The man seems to be on a winter-on, summer-off cycle, and this winter show, held at the Opera, was glorious. The audience was seated on two sides of the backstage. Before the show the curtains went up and we were treated to the jaw-dropping view of the opera proper. Instead of actors, there were the photographers waving at us.
The show was classic Van Noten – lots of military details, jewel tones, and winning color combinations. Some of the garments were over-embellished, others were just right. There was a softness and gentleness to it all, making it quite impossible not to like.
After Van Noten, the needle has shifted to the other end of the fashion spectrum at Boris Bidjan Saberi. No surprises in the collection that was masterfully executed. Saberi has settled into an aesthetic that is uniquely his own and he showed it here in structured jackets, long heavy knits and long zippered boots. The snowy shade of gray might have been a continuation of the last season’s white mountaineering theme of his 11 line.
At the BBS showroom there was plenty to want – not only in that color, but also in black. The leather jackets with extended lining were a particular hit, and so were the long boots, if you have the height to pull them off.
Friday morning I schlepped across town to the 10-a.m. Junya Watanabe show. I don’t know why. I keep hoping that Watanabe will put his formidable technical prowess to an aesthetic different from the workwear/suiting direction he has taken in what seems like forever. My heart went aflutter when the show opened with a thumping Joy Division soundtrack. Could I see an expertly cut up perfecto or a pair of artfully destroyed black jeans? Nope. Instead, out went a bunch of checkered Mod suits and jackets with solar panels on the back (WTF?). The entire thing was incoherent, not to say (again) schizophrenic.
The show of Ann Demeulemeester was a further disappointment. It is now clear that Sebastian Meunier has been gradually preparing Demeulemeester’s audience for a departure from her signature aesthetic. But this show felt like a disarray of ideas. There was buffalo plaid and orange velvet and other things that, while breaking away from Demeulemesteer’s aesthetic have failed to build its own. Meunier told me that it’s a tricky balance but at the end he has to do what he feels right.
Anne Chapelle, the owner of Demeulemeester (and Ackermann) had another concern on her mind. She sees Demeulemeester’s audience aging and she wants to attract a new generation. The risk, of course, is alienating the old hardcore fans, but it seems one she is willing to take. I am not sure why, as I meet young people who love Demeulemeester’s work. And if the signature is gone, are we not looking at merely some nice clothes? But there are a lot of nice clothes out there, from companies with much deeper pockets and with marketing and advertising budgets.
Oddly enough, in the showroom the women’s abbreviated collection, shown along men’s, looked beautiful. Perhaps the company thinks that Ann’s men and women want different things. But in my experience, Demeulemeester works like no other designer for a couple. Demeulemeester has always designed for a man with his woman in mind, and vice versa. Regardless, I look forward to the women’s shows.
Of course for men everything will be available in black and it seemed like buyers had enough to fill their budgets with. But a larger point remains – will a fan of the brand even bother to look at the individual garments if Demeulemeester’s ethos is gone? We are back to the dichotomy of the aesthetic runway statement versus the individual garment."
Continue reading here: http://www.sz-mag.com/news/2016/01/f...mblings-fw-16/
by Eugene Rabkin
"This past men’s fashion week was marked by a sense of schizophrenia more than anything else. Half of the shows in Paris were held in opulent palatial spaces and the other half in basements stripped of everything but their concrete foundations. The reactions of critics and buyers were similarly split. The editors I spoke with mostly shrugged shoulders and talked of consistently lowering expectations, while buyers thought the season more than solid.
And this has been the leitmotif of the week – conceptually and aesthetically, shows left you wanting more, while in the showrooms plenty of good garments awaited.
Let’s begin with the shows then. My first was Haider Ackermann, held in Hotel de Ville. The venue brimmed with gold and so did the collection. I usually don’t mind Ackermann’s indulgences, but this time he went overboard with the ornament that bordered on crime. Typically, Ackermann offsets the gold brocade and velvet by the black striking a well-tuned balance, but not this time. Partly this might have been the fault of styling, as models were sent out in full bling mode, followed by a full monochrome look that couldn’t quite refocus your attention in time.
Taken apart at the showroom, however, the collection had plenty of desirable items. I love Ackermann’s shade of olive – he gets it just right, and there were several garments in that particular hue that spoke to me – a smoking jacket and an oversized coat.
Then it was off to Raf Simons. At his best, Simons makes you think, whether you like or dislike the collection, which is more than can be said about some other shows. Simons’ inspirations were quite obvious – moreso because he spelled them out for you on a sheet of paper. David Lynch, Martin Margiela, his own past collections. It was all youth, youth, youth – with over-oversized varsity sweaters, some worn as capes, and so on. Was it good? Was it bad? I still can’t make up my mind.
Next day I started with Rick Owens. His show, in the basement of Palais de Tokyo was a letdown. The super-wide pants (and it was the season of wide pants, didn’t you get the memo? Lucky, you who don’t subscribe to trend reports) were silly, too close to the raver pants from the 90s. The abbreviated double-breasted jackets didn’t help. The long hairy parkas were fine, and if you have always dreamed of being a purple yeti, you can pair them with some other hairy tops.
When I got to the showroom, things brightened up but not by much. There were fine knits and those hairy parkas and what not, but I know you know that I know you will be buying the greatest hits from the pre-collection come next fall. And this has become Owens’ thing – he can afford to go wild on the runway because he has built a stellar body of work that he has shifted into the pre-collection. Hurray for that – let the man experiment. Good or bad, it’s interesting.
Dries Van Noten’s show later that night was on point. The man seems to be on a winter-on, summer-off cycle, and this winter show, held at the Opera, was glorious. The audience was seated on two sides of the backstage. Before the show the curtains went up and we were treated to the jaw-dropping view of the opera proper. Instead of actors, there were the photographers waving at us.
The show was classic Van Noten – lots of military details, jewel tones, and winning color combinations. Some of the garments were over-embellished, others were just right. There was a softness and gentleness to it all, making it quite impossible not to like.
After Van Noten, the needle has shifted to the other end of the fashion spectrum at Boris Bidjan Saberi. No surprises in the collection that was masterfully executed. Saberi has settled into an aesthetic that is uniquely his own and he showed it here in structured jackets, long heavy knits and long zippered boots. The snowy shade of gray might have been a continuation of the last season’s white mountaineering theme of his 11 line.
At the BBS showroom there was plenty to want – not only in that color, but also in black. The leather jackets with extended lining were a particular hit, and so were the long boots, if you have the height to pull them off.
Friday morning I schlepped across town to the 10-a.m. Junya Watanabe show. I don’t know why. I keep hoping that Watanabe will put his formidable technical prowess to an aesthetic different from the workwear/suiting direction he has taken in what seems like forever. My heart went aflutter when the show opened with a thumping Joy Division soundtrack. Could I see an expertly cut up perfecto or a pair of artfully destroyed black jeans? Nope. Instead, out went a bunch of checkered Mod suits and jackets with solar panels on the back (WTF?). The entire thing was incoherent, not to say (again) schizophrenic.
The show of Ann Demeulemeester was a further disappointment. It is now clear that Sebastian Meunier has been gradually preparing Demeulemeester’s audience for a departure from her signature aesthetic. But this show felt like a disarray of ideas. There was buffalo plaid and orange velvet and other things that, while breaking away from Demeulemesteer’s aesthetic have failed to build its own. Meunier told me that it’s a tricky balance but at the end he has to do what he feels right.
Anne Chapelle, the owner of Demeulemeester (and Ackermann) had another concern on her mind. She sees Demeulemeester’s audience aging and she wants to attract a new generation. The risk, of course, is alienating the old hardcore fans, but it seems one she is willing to take. I am not sure why, as I meet young people who love Demeulemeester’s work. And if the signature is gone, are we not looking at merely some nice clothes? But there are a lot of nice clothes out there, from companies with much deeper pockets and with marketing and advertising budgets.
Oddly enough, in the showroom the women’s abbreviated collection, shown along men’s, looked beautiful. Perhaps the company thinks that Ann’s men and women want different things. But in my experience, Demeulemeester works like no other designer for a couple. Demeulemeester has always designed for a man with his woman in mind, and vice versa. Regardless, I look forward to the women’s shows.
Of course for men everything will be available in black and it seemed like buyers had enough to fill their budgets with. But a larger point remains – will a fan of the brand even bother to look at the individual garments if Demeulemeester’s ethos is gone? We are back to the dichotomy of the aesthetic runway statement versus the individual garment."
Continue reading here: http://www.sz-mag.com/news/2016/01/f...mblings-fw-16/
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