Genderless Megabrand from Ludovic de Saint Sernin, Sacai, KidSuper at PFW

At the final weekend of Paris Men’s Fashion Week, three very different brands showcased retail-savvy collections filled with inspiration.

Ludovic de Saint Sernin

Stunning, stunning and ultra smooth, Ludovic de Saint Sernin is on its way to building a genderless megabrand that speaks to a new generation of luxury consumers.

The show opens with a series of mermaid skirts with a more structured leather bodice, separated by sections where an open-fronted shirt or bralet is paired with trousers, flippy skirts, or elegant silk boxers, while asymmetrical toga drapes reveal de Saint Sernins’ signature nude gown. plus plunge. gown front with skirt crafted from Swarovski crystal netting like a fishing net raised at the back.

The collection is an exercise in perfecting his codes and further defining and expanding the visual lexicon of his Ludovic de Saint Sernin brand.

Speaking backstage after his show in the grounds of the Muse des Archives Nationales closing Paris Men’s Fashion Week, the designer said he views the collection as a reset. I started today six years ago, off calendar and this I think is the quintessential LdSS universe. It represents the idea of ​​beauty and sensuality and love and freedom and daring to be yourself.

The silhouette is fluid yet beautifully crafted. He said that while he was researching the cut, he thought of creating a silhouette that would appeal to other people when they saw you.

The starting point is a beautiful summer romance and she talks about Patti Smith’s memoir Only Kids which documents Smith’s relationship with artist Robert Mapplethorpe, changing her life. It taught me to dare to be myself and not be afraid to be yourself in this life, to accept it.

I see my collection as a book; they are highly autobiographical, he adds. The book featured in the show, standing out from the logo crystal mesh messenger bag which, along with the strappy crossbodies, are new accessories building on the success of the cleavage tote bag she debuted at her show in January.

The jewelry, done in collaboration with artist friend Diego Villarreal Vagujhelyi, includes a courting cufflink and feather duster ring made of raw white brass imprinted with the gesture of the way you hold your hand if you meet someone and you’re a bit shy, he says, demonstrating holding his hand in front of him or holding one wrist. This is the memory of all those positions.

De Saint Sernin, who parted ways with Ann Demeulemeester after nearly a season at the helm, has also proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that he doesn’t need a big name home platform to legitimize his own name or raise his profile.

Sakai

Better known for uniting fabrics, for men’s spring 24 (and women’s pre-spring) Sacais Chitose Abe turned her attention to movement, blending Punk with a more positive surf culture.

The Know Future slogan emblazoned on the T-shirt is a punk reworking of the nihilism that permeates the collection. As designer Sacai said backstage after the show on Sunday afternoon, This is not the future, this says there is something (good ahead) in the future and we should look at it positively.

Patterns come in the form of exaggerated floral motifs executed as prints or bonded to contrasting fabrics while the usually subdued color palette is punctuated with positive overtones that encourage the primary colors.

The excited Klein met Style Not Com blue, matches the latest issue of the pantone style cover Magazine which Abe curated but he said it was coincidental because the collection had been compiled long before the collaboration. It just so happens that he has an affinity for shade.

Another major inspiration behind the collection is uniforms. I think back to the days when I wore a uniform to school and tricked it into being more individualized, said Abe.

The idea of ​​uniforms also extends to work clothes as she wants to show how uniforms can be interpreted in different ways. Moleskin was born from French workwear from the ’40s featuring the aforementioned floral appliqué, while the brand’s ongoing relationship with American workwear-inspired label Carhartt also broadens the idea of ​​bringing together disparate fabrics.

From the back, many Carhartt cuts look more like conventional suits, he explains about the brand’s signature duck fabric blended with more subtle tailoring.

The surfer idea plays off through Hawaiian-meets-workwear shirts, chunky intarsia knits, made to resemble a terry cloth, and necklaces that incorporate more beach beads with pearls, an allusion also used by Pharrell Willams in his work. debut show for Louis Vuitton.

As is so often the case in fashion, there’s a collective spirit in the air this season. Kim Jones also borrowed from the Punk movement. But like Abe, he’s put his spin on it, mixing a mohawk-style beanie hat with a more feminine flair.

Super Boy

A few weeks ago Meta launched the #itsyourworld campaign to show how Reels ads can help businesses promote themselves.

Colm Dillanes KidSuper is one of the flagship brands and used the venue to preview the fisherman’s net suit (yes, the collective mindset plays a part here too) that appeared at the Paris Mens Fashion Week event on Saturday night sponsored by Meta.

Dillane has also created a smartphone augmented reality doodlescape filter where his KidSuper illustration can be superimposed over an IRL background. It is accessed via a QR code that appears in the program provided to guests.

Taking place at the Paris Thre de LOdon, the event entitled How to Find Ideas in the form of a play written and starring by Dillane himself, which is broken up into a series of mise en scnes.

While this may be a nod to the Metas Reels concept, the idea also removes the collage print effect that is integral to Dillanes’ oeuvre and plays out throughout streetwear and tailoring.

In a witty look at the original ideas returning to the show’s title for further detail, the collection also incorporates several tropes from other Paris Fashion Week designers with suits borrowing from the ghosting effect used by Jonathan Anderson in his last Loewe womenswear collection. season.

Coming just a day after Anderson sent out a foot-inspired footwear during his Loewe show that may or may not have been a nod to the famous Maison Margiela Tabis Dillane split toes is money.

Elsewhere, the plaster skirt featuring a disembodied nose and lips is a nod to Schiaparelli’s surrealism while the briefcase wearing a suit and tie should be a reference to designer Thom Browne’s work.

I’ve never gotten good advice from someone who doesn’t take risks, said Dillane after the event. He was also never afraid to rule himself and in one play where he appeared to be invisible to his fellow actors, he shouted: Can’t you see me? The answer is flat: Yes, if you get a full-time job at Louis Vuitton

Last season Dillane was a guest designer for the brand’s show LVMH Fall 23 Mens before the appointment of Pharrell Williams as creative director. The spot left many wondering if the role would go to a KidSuper designer.

It was typical Dillane to greet the elephant in the room. Her show notes sum it up. I thought life was all about obstacles and I hit them… Obstacles are fun. The show must be like that.