The fashion world pulls out its big guns for the last round of fashion weeks when the focus is on womenswear and moves through New York (mainly safe), London (mainly up-and-coming), Milan (some of the big hitters), Paris (the big finale). Despite centring around womenswear, many brands have co-ed shows – either to underline their lifestyle brand status or, economically, because producing a big show costs a fortune so doing a joint show saves money. This season however there seemed, at least to us, to be fewer men’s outfits out there and, when they did appear, often just used men as accessories with not so many exciting or interesting looks. But there were still a few and we did the leg work by watching everything to bring you the best. Here are the ones we liked the most.
Simone Rocha
After dipping her toe into menswear for her collab with H&M, Rocha has started including it in her main collections. Her aesthetic tends towards the more gentle and esoteric but in between the transparent and beaded pieces are some lovely pants, trousers and cool pink suits with just a bit of embroidery to elevate them into something party-ready.
Boss
Boss played an absolute blinder this season with an excellent show during Milan Fashion Week. Stylish, wearable yet with interesting touches (the short suit pants were more fashion-forward than we expected from the brand). We loved the colour palette and the sporty vibe, accentuated by the use of many athletes in the diverse cast show.
Jil Sander
Sometimes we struggle a bit to get a grip on what Jil Sander is really about these days: once the bastion of sharp, intellectual minimalism, it has drifted somewhat in focus. But there was a lot to like in this presentation with beautifully proportioned, easy-to-wear clothes with clearly luxurious fabrics.
Bottega Veneta
You can always rely on Bottega Veneta to have an impressive show and this season was no exception. Leading the way in superb quality and craftsmanship mixed with an avant-garde design mindset, the brand particularly wowed us with the creased fabric section (clearly we need to save up for a pink suit next summer) and obviously the bags were as witty as they were covetable.
Balenciaga
Balenciaga certainly don’t feature in our list of favourite brands – too many logos, too much hype – but there is no denying that they come up with some clever and well-considered pieces. Basing a collection on cocoon shapes central to much of the original founder’s work, the silhouette was modernised into rounded bomber jackets, hoodies and denim jackets. Shame the same attention to detail wasn’t applied below the waist which mostly featured rather dull jeans…
Lacoste
We’re not entirely sure if Lacoste really have the design chops to warrant a full show during Paris Fashion Week but they actually presented some cool stuff this season. Obviously they are tied to tennis imagery and that meant a lot had last year’s Challengers vibe but they had fun with the crocodile logo and there were some good pants and sporty pieces that would work off the court too.
