Day 5 - End of Paris Men's Fashion Week

It's the end of the Menswear FW runway shows for another season!

Paris ended with shows from Songzio, Rynshu, No Editions, Qasimi Homme, Arnys, Bill Tornade, and Agnes B. The main show of the day were Acne, Thom Browne and Lanvin.

The stand out collection for me was the one and only, Paul Smith, one of my favourite designers.

Paul Smith FW12

Images courtesy of Fashionising

Neon accents were what brought me to love this collection! I think neon colours are hard to incorporate into an outfit without looking tacky, but Paul Smith made the outfits with the neon accents. Something as simple as changing the front panel of a coat neon, replacing the handle of a man bag with neon leather or toning down the brightness with a woody neutral has influenced me to wear daring neon colours this coming season.

Finale, Dior Homme FW12

So it's time to say goodbye to another season of Men's runway shows, and await the day the pieces will be available for us to wear!

Au revoir Paris!

Day 4 - Paris Men's Fashion Week

The fourth day of PFW included shows from some more of my favourite designers, such as Maison Martin Margiela, Kenzo, Miharayasuhiro, Damir Doma and Raf Simons.

The best collections from the day for me were Dior Homme, Hermes and Ann Demeulemeester.

Dior Homme FW12

Dior Homme is not the same without Hedi Slimane, but that is not a downer, this collection was wonderful! I have always been a sucker for military green, khaki and dark olive and Dior Homme did not disappoint me. I'm glad I can wear a plain cap and aviators with my outfits this coming Fall/Winter season, I used to wear those two as a combination when I was younger and thought I was so cool haha

Ann Demeulemeester FW12

Miss Demeulemeester's collection has got my blood pumping, and in a good way! I absolutely adore the colour palette, the strategic use of black and white against bright blue and red is wonderful. In addition to the colour palette, the layers of fragile fabrics for the looks are amazing, and I can tell I will be recreating some of these looks for the coming season.

Hermes FW12

I loved everything about this collection - the reptilian leather, the textured velvet, the magical prints and the deep colour palette. I have nothing more to say.

All images courtesy of Fashionising

Day 3 - Paris Men's Fashion Week

It's the third day of Paris Men's Fashion Week and there has been incredible collections so far!

Today, a few of my favourite designers such as Junya Watanabe, Yves Saint Laurent, Kris Van Assche and Comme Des Garcons Homme Plus had their runway shows, but it surprised me that Givenchy was the only collection and show which I loved from my list of favourite designers.

Along with Givenchy, Julius and Boris Bidjan Saberi's collections stood out.

Julius FW12

Images courtesy of Fashionising

As you can already tell, I am a devotee to minimalist chic and monotone colour palettes when it comes to labels which have a seemingly futuristic Utopian style. Julius is a Japanese label which I've only recently heard about, and I am glad I saw their collection, which is reminiscent of labels such as Rick Owens, Chronicles of Never and The Twelfth Letter. 

Boris Bidjan Saberi FW12

Images courtesy of Fashionising

Speaking of futuristic Utopian style, Boris Bidjan Saberi brings this up a notch by adding elements of cyberpunk and Goth to the collection. Some of the garments are not made to be worn on the street, but with the ever changing global climate it may seem like these garments will soon be essential in our wardrobe, as they are designed to protect the body, as it seems to me.

Givenchy FW12

Images courtesy of Fashionising

Stars and skirts, stars and skirts, stars and skirts! All I saw from Givenchy was stars and skirts! I admit, the men did look good in their kilts, but what I didn't like about the show was the septum piercing given to every model to wear out onto the runway. I know, septum piercings are the rage right now, but we don't need it pushed onto us! Anyway, the collection itself was a bit questionable for me... I haven't decided if I love it or hate it, but it definitely caught my attention!

Day 2 - Paris Men's Fashion Week

The second day in Paris featured runway shows from famous designers from different parts of the world, including  Kolor, Viktor & Rolf Monsieur, Louis Vuitton (which I watched through the brand's live stream), Yohji Yamamoto, Jean Paul Gaultier and one of my favourite labels, Issey Miyake. It was a surprise to me that Issey Miyake's collection did not capture my attention this time around, but there's always a first for everything!

The stand out collections for me were 3.1 Phillip Lim, Alexis Mabille, Rick Owens and Dries Van Noten.

3.1 Phillip Lim FW12

Images courtesy of Fashionising

The structure of the garments of 3.1 by Phillip Lim is what appealed to me the most. Along with that, the use of clear plastic vinyl, the showing of creeper style shoes and the muted brights clashing with the neutrals made this collection outstanding.

Alexis Mabille FW12

Images courtesy of Fashionising

The attention to detail and intricacy of these details in this collection is amazing. Collared shirts featured lace collars or chiffon and lace detailing in the chest, trousers were emblazoned or mismatched with quilted fabric and the punk chokers around the calves of the models gave this whole collection a feeling of reserved rebellion.

Rick Owens FW12

Images courtesy of Fashionising

It is no secret that Rick Owens embodies his own label by the way he dresses, and that he loves to see a skirt on a man. In this collection, I saw much less men's skirts than usual, and saw more focus on stiff structure in garments for the male form. Rick always manages to tweak the most basic of garments into a piece of art, for example, the draping of the typical tough leather jacket at the neckline and the taking off of a button on the blazers. Rick has once again given to us androgynous chic for the coming season.

Dries Van Noten FW12

Video courtesy of Bayoucool

One of my favourite designers, Dries Van Noten, presented such a vibrantly creative show and collection! In recent years, Dries Van Noten has created iconic prints for his collections and I loved how the prints of the garments correlated with the paintings which were done whilst the show was on! I couldn't pick out which pieces were my favourites so I decided to post the video for you to see!

MUGLER - Up close and personal

The live streaming for Mugler changed the way fashion shows are viewed by people around the world - not only did the stream include the show, but also the fittings, pre-show preparation, rehearsals, backstage chaos, and post-show appointments, giving everyone watching the feeling of being right there amongst the craziness!

All this at the tips of fashion enthusiasts' hands through http://www.ustream.tv/muglerlive!

The stream even included a one-on-one Q&A with Nicola Formichetti himself!

I was lucky enough to have two of my questions answered, and the first was asking if Lady Gaga would be on the playlist for the show, and the answer was no... which I am actually happy about haha!

The second was asking if neon would reappear in this collection like in their Spring/Summer 2012 collection, and Nicola bluntly said no, which I was sad about, I love neon!

ALL IMAGES COURTESY OF Nicola Formichetti

What I loved the most was that the show featured the "model cam", where a camera was attached to two models to show to us how it felt like to be on the runway! 

Video courtesy of Mugler's Ustream Channel

Anyway, on to the actual show and the collection - I could not decipher which pieces I loved more than others because I've always been a fan of Thierry Mugler and the rejuvenated Mugler. 

I loved the abundance of glitter metallics, futuristic vinyl and the distorted silhouette which some of the garments gave. The only stand out piece was the blazer-cape which is truly unique in its design! Watch the live stream video for more!

Day 1 - Paris Men's Fashion Week

It's Day 1 of Paris Men's Fashion Week, and once again I cannot wait for the runway shows!

The first day featured shows from Y.Project by Yohan Sefarty, John Lawrence Sullivan, Mugler and Christian Lacroix.
I adored all the runway shows so I'll have to talk about them all! But the most special of them all was Mugler, and not because of the show, but the live streams leading up to the event, hence why I will make another post especially for Mugler. Anyway, I'll start off!

Y.Project FW12

Images courtesy of Fashionising

I have never seen or heard of Yohan Sefarty before, and I am glad I saw his collection on the runway! His designs are my style, and I wear pieces similar to these when it's the Fall/Winter season, so it's a definite that I will be saving up to buy one of the pieces from his collection. The dynamic cuts, mix of textured fabrics and surprisingly relaxed look of the ensembles caught my attention.

John Lawrence Sullivan FW12

Images courtesy of Fashionising

I've only recently heard about John Lawrence Sullivan, and I absolutely love his upcoming Fall/Winter collection! The colour progression from pristine ocean colours to earthy metallics combined with the unique classical designs created a truly amazing collection for the eccentric gentleman for this coming season!

Christian Lacroix FW12

Images courtesy of Fashionising

The one and only Christian Lacroix brought to me a fun, optimistic collection, along with the irony of using Mayan (2012, y'know) prints on some of his pieces, for example, the Mayan jumpsuit. The pieces are both wearable and one of a kind, combining elements of punk and classic, and caters to both a young and mature market. I'd love to own either the Mayan track suit jumper or pants!