LANVIN
“We never have any theme for the collections,” Lanvin menswear designer Lucas Ossendrijver said immediately following his spectacular spring show. “We try to think of the collection as a whole and how to answer to different needs. What we try to do is to find a balance between tradition and modernity: on the one hand you have the traditional fabrics and tailoring methods, and on the other you have very high tech sportswear.”

With the sun shining through the open doors of the cavernous Halles Freyssinet, and Memorabilia on the soundtrack, models walked in a mix of black and white pieces for the first half of the show: black sleeveless lambskin biker shirts were tucked into high waist double pleated pants, the jackets of a white single-breasted slim flared out just slightly at the hip.

“The traditional pieces are deconstructed completely–like the shirting jacket that is just basically a silhouette of the jacket,” Ossendrijver said. “We took out most of the construction of the jacket. In some cases we glue the collar lapel to the jacket so that it is flat and these jackets have no buttons but they maintain their shapes.”

Even with all the shapes and materials all mixed into these garments, the clothes never have the feel of heavy handedness and experimentation.

“We tried not to be more democratic with the collection as you can see loose and fitted, tradition and sports,” Ossendrijver said. “ We have to be more generous in our offering and not less.” He sounded just like a businessman who understood the needs of the marketplace–and that is why the growth of menswear at Lanvin has exponential over the past several years.