S/S 2022 Menswear Shows in Paris: Louis Vuitton, Burberry, Lanvin and More
Men's Fashion Week ended in Paris. The official calendar encompassed 72 names, with digital shows and presentations running from June 22 through to June 27. Marquee brands and designers on the schedule included Louis Vuitton, Loewe, Dunhill and Jil Sander. Other familiar names on the calendar include Lanvin, Isabel Marant, JW Anderson and Burberry.Designers gave totally different, but they added a touch of whimsy to their collections with pops of pink, funky knitwear, and plenty of skin.
Lanvin
For many designers, the Covid-19 era was a real challenge: they had to not only create new collections, but also figure out how to present it. Lanvin's creative director Bruno Sialelli opted for the video-format. In the opening to the video for Lanvin's Resort women’s and men’s S/S 2022 collections, a sunglasses-clad female model sits in hair and make-up, scrolling through escapist beachside images on her phone. Cue the viewer being transported into a trippy, tropical vista, courtesy of a hazy Noughties soundtrack thanks to All Saints’ Pure Shores. There was an effusive, nostalgic atmosphere to a collection defined by bold, travel-inspired pieces, which had an easy mix-and-match aesthetic.
JW Anderson
The founder and creative director of the JW Anderson brand, Jonathan Anderson, despite the numerous examples of his colleagues from the industry, decided not to return to the traditional format of the fashion show for now and presented the spring-summer collection in the form of a lookbook. Nostalgia was on the mind of Jonathan Anderson, who for his third photographic collaboration with Juergen Teller, mounted images of his eponymous brand’s men’s S/S 2022 and women’s Resort collection in the foiled cardboard frames you often find edging kitsch school photographs. Fleece tracksuits, beaded dresses and vests were splashed with a strawberry print inspired by a eighteenth century painting of a squirrel nibbling on berries, ubiquitous rubber sliders were splased with the ‘JW’ anchor logo, jogging bottoms puddled like harem pants and retro sports jackets were emboldened with florals. “Glorification of being who you are,” Anderson added of the offering’s impetus.
Burberry
This season, Ricardo Tisci did not bring his collection to Paris either: instead, but presented it at London’s Royal Victoria Docks. “I wanted the collection to capture that free spirit of youth and its honest and daring attitude, that sense of experimentation and fluidity.... It’s a very raw energy that’s infectious, exciting and full of life. Like an awakening,” said Tisci, of the men’s and women’s collection, which abounded in bodily affirmation, raw seduction and experimentation. For men, oversized tees were transparent, signature trenchcoats sleeveless and decosntructed, trousers utilitarian and buckled and pocketed. In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, young generations around the world have lost out on adventure. For the designer, they’ll be coming back with a bang.
Isabel Marant
The main idea of the new Isabel Marant collection is freedom, energy and cheerfulness, which can be traced not only in the looks themselves, but also in the way models present them in the lookbook - jumping high, running, dancing and proving to everyone that clothes they wear can look good not only in statics, but also in dynamics. Isabelle Marant said that the pandemic did not change her attitude towards fashion in any way, but in the new season she decided to experiment a little with a sporty style, while making it a little more suitable for everyday life. According to the designer, active men must appreciate it.
Louis Vuitton
Over the past few seasons, Virgil Abloh has been inspired by travel, masquerade balls, and different musical styles, but this time he turned to Asian culture for ideas, and in particular to the famous manga Kazuo Koike and the artist Goseki Kojima Kozure Okami, published in the 70s of the last century. It is thanks to her that the latest collection of Louis Vuitton has turned into a real riot of colors. The collection featured hybridised tailoring, sportswear and streetwear silhouettes, from belted suits sported with crumpled top hats to bovver boy baggy denim and rainbow leather bomber jackets.
Hermès
There was an elevated uplift to the brand’s S/S 2022 menswear offering, which saw a return to a physical show at the Mobilier National building in Paris, after a two year absence. In the maison’s show notes, Véronique Nichanian used the words, ‘optimism’, ‘energy’, ‘harmonious’, ‘freedom’, to describe a collection brimming with contrasted colour and luxurious lightness, offering reinvented versions of timeless wardrobe silhouettes suited to our post-pandemic world. On sweaters, intarsia knits exploded with geometric daisies, shorts were cut into a relaxed Bermuda shape, celadon-green cotton shirts had zip-up Tunisian collars and two button suits were constructed for durable wool canvas. Chocolate juxtaposed faded rose, raw silk offset cotton serge. Nichanian added, “...this creative collection is bursting with the vitality of a world reclaimed.”
Jil Sander
The spouses Lucy and Luc Meyer, who head Jil Sander, began to work on the men's collection S/S 2022 when they found out that they were expecting a baby. So, as they themselves admit, they approached the creation of looks with special enthusiasm and decided on maneuvers that were non-standard for their corporate style - added more bright fabrics, paying special attention to detail and contrast of materials of different textures.
Loewe
Designer Jonathan Anderson became the absolute record holder for the Paris Fashion Week, showing two new collections at once - for JW Anderson and Loewe. The latter he dedicated to nightclubs and parties, which are not yet possible due to the epidemiological situation. But next summer, he hopes, the chances of dressing up in short shorts, translucent T-shirts, sequined jumpsuits and oversized sweaters with cutouts in the most unusual places and go dancing all night long will become much more real.
