BEAUTY: Clothing--Misc. Paris Fashion Week, June 2013

As usual, a wrap-up of miscellaneous details and elements from the Spring-Summer '14 collections seen at Paris Fashion Week, June 2013.

Raf Simon's cute, colorful moon boots:

Goths... and technicolor Goths at Comme des Garçons:

Great chukka boots with color bands at Sacai:

I love these SUPER wide cut trousers at Acne...

...and these super high cut trousers from Damir Doma:

And finally, instead of pictures, I want to share the Style.com feature about Umit Benen's collection which was an homage to his homeland and an effort to keep a certain culture from disappearing.

http://www.rafsimons.com/
http://www.comme-des-garcons.com/
http://www.acnestudios.com/
http://www.damirdoma.com/en
http://www.umitbenan.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Miharayasuhiro

If florals are the trend for this season, Mihara Yasuhiro, of the fashion house Miharayasuhiro (a small distinction worth pointing out... well, I am not sure how worthwhile it is to point out, but I am doing so anyhow), bucked the trend with a poetical '14 Spring-Summer collection whose inspiration was birds. Specifically feathers. Embroidered wings spread across trousers, peacock feathers bopped around jackets, and multi-colored pheasant almond feathers were grouped in tight formations to form a texture begging to be petted. I really love the relaxed, loose trousers in the center of the second row. Note: gold leaf in the hair!

http://www.miharayasuhiro.jp/splash/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Ann Demeulemeester

The always flowing, darkly romantic Ann Demeulemeester showed a gorgeous '14 Spring-Summer collection at Paris Fashion Week. Inspired by the concept of a lazy Sunday afternoon in spring, the collection features black, flocked wisteria (florals truly are this season's Hundredth Monkey moment) spreading across jackets, pants, even shoes... mixed with awning stripes that bring to mind a circus: what could be more fun on a Sunday afternoon? The pastoral connections are certainly old-fashioned (relaxing in a pergola covered with the glorious purple vine, or going to see jugglers and acrobats in a big tent on the edge of the village) as is Demeulemeester's typical softly deconstructed Edwardian silhouette (some models sported cloche hats of woven straw). Black and white gave way to the bright red of The Big Top. But that was a momentary burst before the lovely, watery blues and denims. And by the time the collection evolved into indigo and the palest pink, it was truly beautiful. Romantic, breezy, historical.

http://www.anndemeulemeester.be/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Maison Martin Margiela

I was prepared to skip over Maison Martin Margiela's '14 Spring-Summer collection but I am glad I forced myself to look closer. The experimental art lab and design collective is known for deconstructing fashion, for putting it under a microscope, or for alienating it to the point where they position themselves outside of the fashion industry itself. They are also known for recycling...or rather I should upcycling, as the word now materializes. And that ethos was quite in evidence in this subtle, blink-and-you'll-miss-it collection.

The bottoms of blazers and suit jackets were cropped and attached, hybridized if you will, onto tops, tees, and shirts with a waist-high belt. A mutated button up shirt featured extra cuffs at the elbows. Sleeveless coats showed their lining, with felting on the outside. And rust-stained fabrics looked as if they have been sitting in a garage for years covered with iron pipes and tools. I am reminded of an old Police song in which Sting sings: "When the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around..."

Oh, and kudos to MMM for their casting of real men, a few with some mileage. Pretty boys are a dime a dozen...so bland compared to these authentic, and yes, sexy specimens (I'll take bearded gingers 3 and 4, please...so lovely...*sigh*).

http://www.maisonmartinmargiela.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Noten is a genius with pattern. No one else manages to use pattern so subtly but come up with such grand, effective results. Such is the case with his '14 Spring-Summer collection at Paris Fashion Week. Combining florals with a military theme, the entire collection is cumulative... it builds and grows into a fascinatingly rich texture. Yes, all collections and designers take a theme and riff on it, letting it build and grow, but this was different, deeper. While renowned drummer Cindy Blackman Santana (wife of Carlos Santana) beat out a fierce, jazzy tattoo, the models paraded dusty, dusky florals, inspired by fabrics, patterns, and prints that Van Noten has encountered in the archives of the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris, while planning for his upcoming career retrospective there next year.

As a brilliant contrast to all of the beautifully dense and layered flowers, or possibly as a perfect compliment, Van Noten brought in military notes in extensive and gorgeous embroidered gold bullion detailing on dashing coats and tight jackets that brought to mind Navy pea coats and Army parade dress. The gold bullion also showed up, playfully, on loose surf shorts. The 18th century Rococo prints played very well with the regimental sense, creating a kind of WAR AND PEACE/ANNA KARENINA vibe for me.

This could be the season of the floral, with blooms and blossoms showing up at Gucci, Phillip Lim, McQueen, and Prada.

http://www.driesvannoten.be/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Haider Ackermann

Although he has been designing women's fashion since 2001, Haider Ackermann just showed his first official menswear collection at Paris Fashion Week (he showed a one-off collection at Pitti Uomo in 2010). Here, his '14 Spring-Summer collection is at once classic Ackermann and not. Present is the simple, avant-garde cuts in luxurious fabrics like duchesse satin, jacquard, and silk. But enhancing this is a pretty forthright, potent, almost challenging masculine sexiness. Despite the luxe materials and fringed scarves, Ackermann's models are almost all uniformly--and heavily--tattooed. These louche rockers, Teddy Boys, and all-around dudes dripped an indolent attitude that indicated they could either fight you or have sex with you, it is all the same to them. Trousers are cut tight with a looser, dropped crotch (my favorite: the black silk pair embroidered with green dragons), and jackets and coats are sophisticated and slouchy at the same time--witness a sleeveless smoking jacket. The clothes created the attitude, and the attitude created the clothes. A decadent collection for rough bad boys...the contrast works perfectly.

http://www.haiderackermann.be/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Walter Van Beirendonck

Paris Fashion Week is underway and as usual, we are seeing some amazing artistic creations.

Belgian designer Walter Van Beirendonck, one of the original Antwerp Six (with other notables Dries Van Noten and Ann Demeulemeester), is always highly entertaining, bringing a fascinating, in-your-face, sometimes puzzling, sometimes annoying "art school" sensibility to his collections. Sale-able? Wearable? No, he is making artistic and psychological statements with cloth and materials instead of paint or clay. Same thing.

His '14 Spring-Summer collection is entitled "Home Sweet Home" and while it seems avant-garde, and may even contain references to schools of art that existed during the early part of the twentieth century (Cubism, Dadaism, Fauvism), he literally means "home"--his home. He created prints that show a Persian rug on a floor, walls (cleverly created with extra panels sewn onto jackets) and art (by the American Pop Artist Scooter La Forge) hanging on those walls. Word is that these images come from Van Beirendonck's home that he shares with his partner Dirk Van Saene in a little village outside of Antwerp. Wood plank flooring occupies the lower half of outfits while wallpapered walls and furniture occupy the topmost half. It vaguely reminds me of Frankie Morello's '13-'14 Fall-Winter collection in which they employed images of buildings and building materials such as plank and marble flooring. But where Frankie Morello's suite was hard-edged and urban, here, Van Beirendonck softens the concept of home with some sweet, flowing creations, full-length python opera gloves for men, a Klaus Nomi-looking tux ensemble, and glittered Marcelle-waved hair. But of course Van Beirendonck wouldn't be Van Beirendonck if he weren't pushing some buttons. Check out the shoes featuring, ahem, erect male members...worn with socks woven with images of roosters (who often go by another name) and snails. The signified and the signifiers. Infusing this domesticity with sexuality seems sly but perfectly understandable. Domestic scenes exist because of sexuality.

http://www.waltervanbeirendonck.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Rick Owens

Rick Owens took a turn with his '14 Spring-Summer collection at Paris Fashion Week. Called "Vicious," models stomped around while the Estonian thrash-metal punk band Winny Puhh played in, um... compromising positions: the lead screamer got to stand but the instrumentalists in wolf masks were hung upside down by their feet. And the two drummers were bolted onto a vertical spinning platform (watch the video)!

The black and white clothing was just as furious as well, while retaining the Rick Owens asceticism. He has left behind the ecclesiastical robes and futuristic tunics of the past many seasons for a sense of savagery, of slashed and torn garments, yet still seen through the Owens minimalist lens. Tim Blanks of Style.com reports that Owens was inspired by his early punk days in Los Angeles: Owens said he wanted a "cheerful viciousness, viciousness with humor. I felt like doing something ludicrous and fun." Laser cut materials and sheer mesh dominated. Highlights include a great fringed belt, and forward-looking buckled Pilgrim shoes and boots.

No matter what he does, Owens is never boring.

http://www.rickowens.eu/

BEAUTY: Clothing--3.1 Phillip Lim

3.1 Phillip Lim showed a '14 Spring-Summer collection at Paris Fashion Week that looked to be a hybrid between "Logan's Run" and "Fantasy Island" (oh dear, did I just horribly date myself? who cares). Tight/ loose. Tough/gentle. Graphic stripes/ organic flowers. For the "Spring" part of the collection, a variety of intriguing treated leathers (metallicized, channeled, distressed, colored)  occupied space on the same jacket, coat, or pants. And for the "Summer" section, large modern tropical florals reminiscent of a Hawaiian shirt exploded across a simple black and white grid background.

And finally, someone has designed the closest to a classic T-strap sandal I have seen in quite a while. They come in black, clear (they remind me of my plastic/rubber "Jellies" I had in the 80s), metallic blue croc, and metallic silver leather. LOVE them!

http://www.31philliplim.com/

BEAUTY: Clothing--Milano Moda Uomo Misc. June 2013

Milano Moda Uomo has concluded, and here is a brief wrap-up of odds and ends, things worth mentioning...

Jil Sander is ever the minimalist, designing in patternless neutrals, which is why her use of color and pattern in her Spring-Summer '14 collection made it look as if she had lost her mind! But the beautiful, slick bonded-leather coats and jackets seemed more in keeping with her style.

Bottega Veneta showed suits with edges and features outlined and limned in what appeared to be remnants of tailor's chalk. Lapels and buttons are drawn on where none exist. The effect actually made the suits crisp and sharp!

Diesel Black Gold: Great thick double buckle belt and jeans that look bleached or paint splashed but in actuality are woven with a faded floral pattern in silver...

Donatella Versace's use of neon colored sports tape at first seems rather comical, but I have to admit the overall look is pretty cool... the bands of riotous color appearing all over the clothing and models' bodies looked celebratory and bright. Like racing stripes for a body...

Ermenegildo Zegna showed a funky detail: long sleeve tees rolled up over the cuffs of coats and jackets. Kinda gives the slick tailored look some street cred...

On to Paris Fashion Week!

http://www.jilsander.com/
http://www.bottegaveneta.com/
http://www.dieselblackgold.com/
http://www.versace.com/
http://www.zegna.com/us/home.html