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Gay Paris: The Menswear Shows

Black cock is the new black, apparently.

We're always being told that we should be more like the rest of the fashion industry and stop being so into sportswear and music and get with the man bag program. If we were reviewing Milan fashion week, the city where most of the big high fashion menswear business is done, that would probably be apt, but the labels that show in Paris aren't really about shifting suits, even if sometimes they pretend they are. No one cared about Givenchy until they started making what is essentially streetwear. No one gives a damn about Dior now that it's not sold off the backs of new musicians. Mugler's big because of Nicola Formichetti's marketing genius, not because the suits are a recognized phenomenon, and Raf ceased to be important around about the same time the blazers took prominence over the teenage sci-fi fantasies. Maybe Kim Jones' Louis Vuitton proves this theory wrong, maybe not, but anyone who knows anything about Kim, knows he loves thugs and sportswear. So forgive us for worrying about the sort of shows that make fashion fun and not droning on about tailoring.

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To that end, we had fashion writer Dan Thawley review the more exciting shows for us.

BERNHARD WILLHELM

I Love Black Cock. Seriously, that's what it said on the headbands on some of Bernhard Willhelm's models. The German designer's show was inspired by an abstract video art piece, Malibu 1992 by Dorian and Death in Plains, a bizarre, oftentimes nonsensical video set to trashy 90s club music claiming to be a movie and soundtrack to the end of the world. Trashed and ripped workwear staples, like overalls and bomber jackets, were emblazoned with the word TRANSIT and a screen-printed bridge symbol—maybe the bridge to Bernhard’s doomsday party? A violently orange poncho was shredded into fringes and flimsy feather boas circled through the window pane holes in acid-washed denims. Finished off with a soundtrack that fused soundbytes of everything from Bring It On’s cheerleaders with Inner Circle and a lot of electro-clash in between.

GIVENCHY

For Mr. Tisci’s seventh menswear show at Givenchy, spotlights targeted the marching models like searchlights, as the designer showed a brutish mix of workwear and sports gear in line with his be-kilted warrior aesthetic that has become an unshakeable signature. Tisci said he was reliving a childhood obsession with the American dream, which translated as stars and stripes adorning varsity jackets and polo shirts. The models all wore enormous encrusted nose rings that gave them mutant features. A finale of crystal embroidery across shirting, suits, and knitwear injected some high-end glitz to this super-street range.

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MUGLER

Mugler’s director and marketing genius Nicola Formichetti has pretty much opened up the whole catwalk process to the internet. Live-streaming from their Paris studio for three days before the show, team Mugler revealed looks, casting, hair and make-up, fittings, and all the other key components to a fashion show that normally remain shrouded in secrecy and a mystery to most. Does it seem glamorous behind the scenes? Not really. It looked more like bloody hard work. The clothes in leather, sleek wool, and silk jacquards—that's intricately woven patterns, to you—ranged through boxy tailored capes, bomber jackets, and various takes on the formal suit. The track is Azealia Banks' latest, entitled "Bambi". Word is that Nicola is now styling her next video.

AROUND AND ABOUT

Two looks from Walter Van Bierendonck's show.

Laitinen, left; and Heikki Salonen's weed-esque suit, right.

Helsinki-based designer Tuomas Laitinen's brand LAITINEN did a joint presentation with Heikki Salonen. Heikki is the head designer at Diesel mainline these days, too. True to their Scandinavian nature, the Finns got everyone pissed, as the presentation ran over three vodka-soaked hours. Heikki’s collection featured coat panels laced together with leather and a woven animal print. Titled Band Ache, he said he was making reference to recent headlines about a bunch of Indonesian punk rockers in the Sumatran town of Banda Aceh who were forced to bathe and shave their heads by local police in order to be re-educated. Tuomas Laitinen showed puffa jackets, cropped leather motorbike inspired pants, and marble print suiting.

DAN THAWLEY