Paris Men’s Fashion Week Day 4

When Balmain announced last week it was to be bought by Qatar’s Mayhoola,
all eyes were to be on Creative Director Olivier Rousteing on day four of
Paris fashion week. With imminent plans to expand Balmain’s retail presence
and invest in further development of its accessories, there were high
expectations of a new dawn at Balmain’s SS17 men’s presentation.

Balmain

Balmain’s army for SS17 is a colourful tribe, no longer the black, beige,
bling and metallics we have come to expect from this French luxury house,
now firmly established as Kardashian chic. The show opened with full denim
looks, pale, bleached, soft and layered, textured with Balmain signature
zippers, belts and luxe accoutrements. It then blended into military greens
and oranges consisting of kaftan jackets in rich suedes, with plenty of the
Balmain eyelet and tie closures. A Versace inspired colour palette
subsequently emerged; aqua, red, cobalt, often mixed together in lurex
print or embellishment. The bottom half consisted mostly of that Balmain
staple, the legging, jegging, or drop-crotch trouser. There weren’t as many
accessories as this editor expected, but perhaps these will be a bigger
focus for either wholesale or Balmain’s women’s presentation in October.

Hermès

Just like Balmain has its army, Hermès too has its loyal tribe, although
perhaps never the two shall meet. Hermès, founded as a leather business,
can be bold too, and for SS17 there was certainly a striking colour
palette, which consisted of a near neon yellow and Tyrian purple injection
of hues. A cardigan in cognac leather opened the show, it’s
buttery-softness ample evidence of fine quality, sleeves casually rolled
over a striped crew neck. Thus is the look of Hermès, never gauche or
overly designed by that oft cruel hand of fashion. Designer Véronique
Nichanian knows the customer at this end of the economic scale isn’t
interested in flamboyance the way a fashionista gets excited by trend-led
brands. As Vogue.com noted, why re-invent the wheel when you can afford to
reupholster the carriage every season.

Dior

London may have celebrated 40 years of Punk earlier this month, but its
influence has spread far and beyond, including in Kris van Assche’s
collection for Dior this weekend. With a set reminiscent of a fairground,
it reminded Assche of his Antwerp days where the new wave kids would come
to hang out. Although van Assche’s work is much too clean to be labeled as
punk, there were plenty of references in his hybrid sportswear, with models
sporting black nail varnish, neck jewellery, eyelet closures on trousers
and jacket sleeves and a luxury version of a Dr Martens boot. Dior may be
well known for its impeccably cut tailoring, but there were no classic
suits shown on the runway. Perhaps these were omitted for the sake of the
show and laying a foundation for the collection image, but you would hope
these will remain available for a customer who is not likely to invest in a
suit cum harness hybrid.

Sacai

There is always a complexity to a Sacai collection, a typical Japanese
trademark where every fine detail is considered before execution. The
Peruvian Chalan or South American gaucho provided plenty of inspiration,
with the poncho offered as a wardrobe staple. So too Sacai founder and
designer Chitose Abe crossed continents blending in Americana lumberjack
checks and utilitywear. All of which had a Japanese makeover with carefully
thought out details, like fabric covered buttons and bowler hats
reminiscent of A Clockwork Orange. Abe’s designs are always
multi-dimensional, and perhaps as she owns 100 percent of the business,
there is no outside force interfering with her creativity.