The spring-summer shows have come to an end, wrapping up the latest installment of the European menswear calendar with Paris Fashion Week Men’s and its five-day celebration of sportswear, fine tailoring and the latest collections from the most notable names in the industry. Whether you’re a fan of Japanese streetwear or French luxury brands, this season seemed to have it all on the runway—or on the walls, in the case of Kenzo’s high-flying acrobatic finale show. Here are the best collections from PFWM Spring/Summer 2018.
1. FACETASM
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Hiromichi Ochiai’s spring collection took notes from traditional fashion codes and then broke them down for a true-to-form streetwear outing, complete with an overload of prints, varied proportions and textures. Whether made from denim, velvet or lace, this collection covered its bases with sturdy outerwear, elongated silhouettes and sheer numbers. Facetasm is one of those labels we look forward to seeing every season, and this time around, with its edge and age-defying design, was certainly no different; Ochiai didn’t disappoint.
2. ANGUS CHIANG
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Inspired by Taiwan’s alternative cycling and betel nut queen culture, designer Angus Chiang showed up in Paris with a spring-summer collection heavily decked in cycling details, standout slogans and various signage. This collection appeared more wearable than in past seasons, contrasting form-fitting Lycra with sheer knits and fun denim options. Shortlisted as one of this year’s LVMH Prize finalists, Angus’s Paris debut has helped secure his place on the global menswear map as one of this season’s most highly anticipated shows. His use of bold colors, athletic silhouettes and overall effortlessness in creating an easy to wear and unpretentious collection has helped elevate him from shortlisted finalist to one of the brightest emerging talents in the industry today.
3. ANN DEMEULEMEESTER
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Inspired by the relationship between Robert Mapplethorpe and Patti Smith, Ann Demeulemeester’s artistic director Sebastien Meunier decorated his spring-summer collection of loose robe coats and relaxed pajama suits with big flower chokers, leather corset belts, knee-high boots and flashes of skin. Throughout the show, he evoked total bohemian lethargy with rich hues of rust and blush, in addition to the black floral prints and silk shirting that fell languidly off the shoulder and fluttered along the runway; this collection was romantic, wearable and more than enough to fall helplessly in love.
4. HENRIK VIBSKOV
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For Spring 2018, designer Henrik Vibskov explored the concept of sleep—the positions, the locations and the inevitable consequences of having too much (or too little) sleep—and sent out a series of male and female models wearing under-eye masks and donning suits appliquéd with motifs of people sleeping, as well as kimono-style brocade robes and pajama-like striped shirts. In the past, it’s been challenging for this designer to balance overly quirky concepts with wearable creativity, but this season he brought to the Parisian runway a sartorial concoction of enchanting shapes, colors, prints and Henrik Vibskov’s inimitable ability for making fashion fun.
5. HERMÈS
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This was an exceptionally strong season for Hermès, if simply because they don’t try to be something they aren’t; they’re certainly not a traditional “fashion house,” and this spring-summer collection by their men’s artistic director Véronique Nichanian only celebrated that fact. Instead, the collection focused on unassuming and beautifully crafted pieces, each entirely functional and easy to wear. The best pieces tended to be the looks made with their patented fabric called Toilbright, with its glossy foil-like sheen in colors ranging from red to green, to royal blue and black; that includes this season’s statement track pants, parkas and jackets, which made up the core of the collection. If you take anything from this outing, it’s definitely the Toilbright look.
6. KENZO
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This one was an easy favorite from the last day of shows: Kenzo, with it ultra-bright and colour-blocked collection, concluded this season of Paris Fashion Week Men’s with a combined men’s and women’s outing—and an exclusively Asian cast of models. Inspired by musician-dancer Ryuichi Sakamoto, designers Carol Lim and Humberto Leon presented their men’s line of tailored blazers and outerwear, often detailed with a recurring chain detail. For their women’s range, the supermodel Sayoko Yamaguchi (and original muse to Kenzo Takada) inspired an artful and enthusiastically feminine mix of stripes, ruffles and bold floral appliqué. All this, on top of the aerial acrobatic performance on the walls of the Camille-Sée High School by Lafawndah, made for a perfect end to another round of shows.
Brent Taalur Ramsey is an American writer living in Paris.