During Paris Fashion Week, Subdued And Substantial Luxuriance

On Sunday, the menswear shows at Paris Fashion Week come to an end. These are a handful of the standout looks from the last three days’ more than forty runway events.

Calm elegance

Thanks in large part to the success of the TV show “Succession,” silent luxury was the buzzword of the high-end fashion scene last year.

Whether driven by a sense of shame about the widening gap in society or a passion for traditional tailoring, Paris last week saw no slowdown in the trend.

Thanks to its finely fitted suits and autumnal-toned trench coats, AMI was hailed as a leading example by fashion site Culted, which highlighted the “timelessness of a garment and rejecting the trend cycle altogether”.

The “epitome of quiet luxury,” according to online fashion company Hypebeast, is Hermes, with its long leather coats and thick knitwear in a somber color scheme of black, grey, and brown.

Dior was an elegant event as well, with designer Kim Jones showcasing some haute couture interpretations of the kaftans, turbans, and stage costumes that the legendary ballet dancer loved in a performance honoring him.

Additionally, not so silent

At Balmain’s first menswear presentation in a while, there were loads of flowers, red lips, and polka dots mixed in with sparkly reworks of traditional suits and tuxedos.

Fashion website WWD was told by designer Olivier Rousteing, “It’s luxury, but it’s definitely not quiet.”

He referred to the presentation as a celebration of African style. It featured striking hues, avant-garde designs, opulent facial jewellery, and tastefully blingy gold bags. Naomi Campbell, the queen of divas, made a cameo towards the end.

Fashion insiders constantly point to Rick Owens, the designer whom every goth loves. Although the location of his most recent show—his Paris atelier—was more somber than usual, there was still the expected shock value.

A new feature was large rubber boots that resembled something between a condom and a missile warhead. The designer himself described them as “grotesque and inhuman” in their proportions, in addition to the traditional stilts, pagoda-like shoulders, and dilated black pupils.

spotting celebrities

The fashion industry has always been heavily influenced by celebrity presence, and athletic collaborations are becoming more and more common.

Portuguese football player Ronaldinho made a significant impression on the New York label KidSuper when he agreed to walk the runway.

Celebrity sightings are common at Loewe; on Saturday night, pop sensation Zayn Malik and actors Jamie Dornan and Nicholas Hoult were seated front row.

Pharrell Williams, the hip-hop artist, was named as Louis Vuitton’s creative director last year, taking the brand a step further.

Bradley Cooper and rapper Playboi Carti attended his American West-themed show, complete with cowboy hats and rhinestones, while British trad-rock band Mumford and Sons debuted their new song “Good People” during the after-party.

The 80-year-old Japanese designer Yohji Yamamoto, who starred football icon Zinedine Zidane in the front row and legendary German director Wim Wenders and “Walking Dead” star Norman Reedus on the runway, was arguably the host with the coolest A-listers.