YVES SAINT LURENT S / S 2011 MENSWEAR VIDEO

YVES SAINT LAURENT S / S 2011

CALVIN KLEIN S / S 2011 MENSWEAR VIDEO

CALVIN KLEIN SPRING SUMMER 2011 MENSWEAR

LANVIN SPRING 2011 MENSWEAR

PARIS

«An antidote to laziness,» was how Alber Elbaz described the show for Lanvin ‘s menswear today. It was all about action, mobility, urgency—to the point where some of the clothes had a frenetic, unfinished quality, with ragged seams swirling around the body and rough hems edging, among other things, a biker-influenced jacket.

Elsewhere, there were the narrow silhouette and the fundamental athleticism of torsos wrapped at waist or shoulder, or the sporty leanness of a striped top over what looked like bike shorts. This morphing between high performance and something more conservative was the not-quite-sportswear essence of the collection.

Johannes Niermann

Bastiaan Van Gaalen

Gabriel Gronvik

Charlie France

Johannes Niermann

Thomas Penfound

Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver

Both Elbaz and his lieutenant, Lucas Ossendrijver, put the emphasis squarely on textures. «You want to touch them,» said Ossendrijver, «It’s something intimate.» A suit in floral embossed silk cloque certainly met that criterion. So did a hooded coat in a complex patchwork. Intimacy defines Lanvin’s womenswear. Its recognition here underlined what Elbaz acknowledged as a growing synergy between the men’s and women’s ranges. «Togetherness is really strong in this collection,» he remarked.

That was probably why jewelry was such a major issue in the show. It was big, bold, and barbaric. «Souvenirs,» said Ossendrijver. «When women can wear pants, men can wear jewelry,» Elbaz added. And, truth be told, this season it was the baubles that carried a lot of the subversive, insidious charm that has made Lanvin menswear such a draw for retailers.

DIESEL BLACK GOLD SPRING 2011

NEW YORK, SEPTIEMBRE 2010

Get this: Diesel had a runway show and not a single blue jean was included.

«We have a lot of blue denim in Diesel, so it’s not necessary to go down this way—everybody knows we have this,» Sophia Kokosalaki, Diesel Black Gold‘s creative director, explained backstage. That’s a bold move, but one that made for a compelling show. Kokosalaki subbed dark, dusty colors for the indigo blues, and, for the most part, leather for the denim. (It’s central, she says, to the company DNA, and owner Renzo Rosso agrees.) And when Jacquelyn Jablonski tromped out in the first look—a cognac-colored leather jacket with a peplum and a thigh-grazing mini made of sewn-together leaf-like scraps that looked like nothing so much as a cowhide hula skirt—oh, brave new world!

Where that world is remains to be seen. Kokosalaki mentioned the desert inspired the palette she chose (caramels and cognacs, coppery greens and corals, sands and stones). Judging from the ratty bouffants the ladies wore, I’d say a desert island—and not one with a comb. But as styled by Marie-Amélie Sauvé, the collection had an appealing savagery and ingenuity both. The leather pieces emphasized handwork and craftsmanship, whether they were embossed, painted, appliquéd, or tied. (A few too many ties, come to think of it.) «Sometimes it was really intense, really couture style,» Kokosalaki said. Well, if you were marooned at sea, you’d certainly have time to ply your craft.

DKNY SPRING 2011 MENSWEAR

NEW YORK OCTUBRE DEL 2010

Is Donna Karan foreseeing inclement conditions? Her DKNY collection for Spring was heavy on the bad-weather tech. There were windbreakers and raincoats aplenty, waxed and resin-coated numbers to keep you dry, even blazers with drawstring details and zippered pockets. But dreary this wasn’t. The designer dubbed the collection Spring Clean and took inspiration from the streamlined looks of the sixties. (That über-sixties piece, the Harrington jacket, appeared in reversible form.)

Karan is an agitator for the buy-now, wear-now ethos routinely ignored by the fashion world, and her first Spring deliveries—which will hit stores in the dead of winter—come in sober, dark blues and blacks, styled buttoned up tight against the cold. Maybe that made the subsequent tiptoe into Spring all the more refreshing: Washed leather jackets, macs, and cotton suiting (in three cuts of varying slimness) arrived in an appealing palette of slates, ice blues, khakis, and tans. And lest the point get lost, a few key pieces were brightened up with shots of Popsicle orange. Here comes the sun, after all.