By THOMAS ADAMSON, AP Vogue Author
PARIS (AP) — Kenzo’s designer, Nigo, discovered his groove for his sophomore assortment on the LVMH-owned home, drawing vibrant parallels with home founder Kenzo Takada.
Nigo has made historical past as the primary Japanese designer to entrance the home since Takada, who died in 2020.
However past the style, Nigo — who has made excessive profile collaborations with Pharrell — has actual star attraction, as soon as once more pulling in prime VIPs this season akin to Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel.
Listed here are some highlights of Sunday’s spring-summer 2023 menswear collections in Paris.
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KENZO’S BACK IN THE GROOVE
Set in a school corridor and with a pervading 70s, preppy vibe, Nigo channeled the dazzling colours and mix-and-match cultural fusion that grew to become synonymous with the home’s origins.
Hanging from the roof had been flags studying “Kenzo 1970.” For college kids of trend, a reference not misplaced: This date was not solely the yr Takada offered his first trend present within the Galerie Vivienne in Paris in entrance of his new store, Jungle Jap, however it was additionally the yr of Nigo’s beginning.
Funky scarves, a tackle Boy Scout types, morphed into coloured lapels on fits that riffed on uniform.
A vivid yellow patch-loaded waistcoat had an African vibrancy and combined with Breton striped scarves, nautical themes and Asian cross-over types in jackets. It created a dynamic cultural melting pot.
But it surely was the quirkiness and humor that outlined spring-summer on this sturdy present — thick woolen socks on canary yellow flip flops, crimson flower appliques and multicolored bowler hats.
Nigo, 51, is just the second Asian designer on the head of a European excessive trend label, alongside Bally’s Filipino-American Rhuigi Villaseñor. His appointment continues to symbolize a milestone as the luxurious trade wrestles extra broadly with questions over racism and variety.
Screaming and crying followers thronged either side of Paris’ Palais de Tokyo noisily forward of Celine’s Sunday evening present. But that they had not turned out for designer Hedi Slimane’s fashions, however for glimpse of 1 the world’s most adulated popstars: Kim Taehyung, aka V from BTS, the multimillion disc promoting South Korean boy band.
Contained in the venue, proceedings across the spring-summer assortment staging had been marginally calmer. Friends swigged on “CELINE” branded mini champagne bottles, as giant summary mirrors descended on cords from the ceiling reflecting mild in all instructions to funky rock music.
Adolescent fashions with shaggy hair stomped grumpily previous, within the designer’s signature fashion, showcasing his early 70s types that had been on excessive the shimmer and riffed on LA rock.
Winklepickers and blue drainpipe denims had been capped with fringed black leather-based coats and shades — within the Franco-Tunisian’s designer’s tried-and-tested types. Black, gently flared pants had been used as a backdrop for assertion fringed coats and jackets. One got here in dazzling gold sequins.
But regardless of the razzmatazz, there was little new right here within the designer’s repertoire. For Slimane, who shopped an identical aesthetic at Saint Laurent with panache, it’s a case of “if it ain’t broke, don’t repair it.”
WOOYOUNGMI’S GENTLE CONTRADICTIONS
Sobriety met moments of punk — and the “late-Nineties skateboarding group” — in South Korean designer Woo Younger Mi’s assortment on Sunday, held within the ornate interiors of Paris’ Musee des Arts Decoratifs.
Stylish tailoring on fits, akin to a double breasted quantity that opened the present with a fragile nip on the waists, contrasted with white sneakers and vests. It made for a deft play in contradiction.
Pants had been an enormous theme — designed in a classy 90s dishevelled fashion. They hung in a lovely curved form on the backside of the leg.
There have been moments of sensuality — and humor — all through this 42-piece co-ed present that marked 20 years because the model was launched. One tactile and semi-transparent blue punk vest was worn by a mannequin with greasy grungy hair who held a fancy sq. leather-based bag.
THOM BROWNE’S INFINITE VARIATIONS
It was a performative runway event for suit-loving Thom Browne, as VIPs together with Farida Khelfa — dressed head to toe within the designer’s garb — arrived theatrically to take their seats after the present had apparently begun. Friends had been in stitches laughing at what appeared to be intentional choreography.
An odd retro voiceover then signaled the “actual” present would begin — as a male mannequin with large, spiky punk hair strutted out in an ecru tailor-made jacket, tie and shorts.
Pastel grey tweeds in contrasting patterns – and with multitudinous layers that had been utterly unfit for the spring-summer season – adopted. They had been worn by a mannequin with an ornamental anchor masking his face holding a hound-shaped bag, and a “35” signal within the custom of old-school couture, which featured numbered seems.
Stripy socks, tailor-made shorts, tweed skirts, black briefcases and patterned pastel fits in checks and stripes created what appeared like infinite variations on the identical theme.
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