The men’s shows are ovah and it’s on to the spring couture shows. We had our contributor Long Nguyen, co-founder and style director of Flaunt, front row taking it all in. Here are his reports from the menswear shows at Lanvin, Comme des Garçons, Dior Homme, and the man of the hour, Thom Browne.
While we’re fairly certain neither designer is actually that concerned about what the other is doing, there are some undeniable similarities and easy-to-draw comparisons between the two, aside from them being the exact same age and sort of looking alike. So, we decided to analyze this “face-off” with a Venn Diagram and more!
Long Nguyen is the co-founder and style director of Flaunt. Our contributor Long Nguyen has made it through the men’s shows and is well into couture. Read what he had to say about Lucas Ossendrijver’s stellar and biz-savvy collection for Lanvin, a redeeming collection for Dior Homme from Kris Van Assche–he seems to have found Read more →
Long Nguyen is the co-founder/style director of Flaunt.
PARIS–When Belgian designer Kris van Assche was appointed creative director of Dior Homme in 2007, one of his first tasks was to build a close relationship with the Dior Homme atelier, established in 2000, to evolve the house’s trademark black suit (or what was then known as the skinny black suit).
In his first several outings–a presentation at a mansion on Avenue Foch in July 2007 and his first show on the grounds of the Invalides near Napoleon’s tomb in January 2008–Mr. Van Assche did not veer far from the codes of the Hedi Slimane years, causing a barrage of criticisms. But a strong history can’t be changed overnight. Over the course of a few seasons, he loosened the skinny black suit and added hues of camel, Dior’s light gray and whites. With the spring 2009 collection, Dior Homme’s signature suit was now boxy yet elegant in its proportion, with draping that reflected the atelier’s craftsmanship.
Last Saturday, in the giant indoor courts of the Tennis Club on the edge of Paris–where light grey and sheer toile veil divided the vast space into small sections to emphasize the privacy of the presentation–Mr. Van Assche sent out a collection of loose and flowing suits and coats, starting from ultra light in white, light ecru, camel to pale blue then to the obligatory black, a collection that revolved around the notion of “less and more,” the theme of the show.
PARIS–What does it say when the crowd is more abuzz about Karl Lagerfeld, and, ugh, Puff Daddy, than the clothes? That’s the question I was fretting over before the Dior presentation. But by the end, I was reminded that it’s not a crowd that makes a collection.
Kriss Van Assche’s line for Dior Homme is a study in clean lines and exact silhouettes. I’ve already used the Jedi metaphor, and the Amish one, but Van Assche’s Dior really merits the same comparisons, except more flowing; this is Jedi School; Amish adolescents. Many of his looks were incredibly loose, and free, despite their attempted adhesion to Van Assche’s calculated silhouettes and restrained, almost sullen palette of gray, black and brown (and like, many others this season, one or two points of red…as if a touch of blood is needed to indicate a pulse). The Amish hats said “I’m going to study in silence,” while the layered wools and billowing pants said “I’m seventeen and it’s time for Rumspringa!”
The collection was presented in a gigantic hall, nearly empty except for six lucite chandeliers and several white fireplaces against the rear wall.
