S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Yves Saint Laurent

August 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Yves Saint Laurent
Designer: Stefani Pilati
Season: Spring/Summer 2011 

 

Stefano Pilati’s spring collection for Yves Saint Laurent had a feminine spirit to it that will fulfill the desires of the chicest young men, if they can afford it. Pilati seemed to have an obsession with the waist, but this was a healthy obsession you won’t read about in trash mags. Collared shirts, one with a printed panel in the front, had large bands similar to cummerbunds around the midriff, at times in a leopard print. In one instance, a leopard band emerged from underneath a collared shirt that cropped. These bands made their way onto long single-breasted jackets when they weren’t belted. A sleeveless jacket was belted and had a ruthlessly masculine feeling, which flowed seamlessly with the femininity throughout. Dotted prints and high waisted pleated shorts were memorable and helped to cement this collection as one of the strongest of the season. It takes a certain level of know-how to design these clothes, which Pilati has in spades, but also an equally clever attitude to wear them. That Stefano Pilati, he’s one clever guy.

 

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: D&G

August 11, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: D&G
Designers: Domenico Dolce, Stefano Gabbana
Season: Spring/Summer 2011

 
 
 
 

Having just opened an exhibition celebrating twenty years of menswear, Stefano Gabbana and Domenico Dolce may be thinking of a mini vacation, or at the very least a few hours at the Polo Lounge in Beverly Hills. They are so hardworking they probably won’t, though their Spring collection for their secondary line, D&G, suggested their customer might. Green, red and black check collared shirts, shorts and sweaters were everywhere, followed by floral print shorts. A Hawaiian print and tanks paired with loose fitting khakis followed with the same easy, breezy feeling. A part of the show favored lighter and darker blues, in solid colors or in a print that looked as though it had been found underwater. As for the suits, they were loose or double-breasted in light blues, green, pink, and cream. A few of the looks featured sweaters draped around the neck, and perhaps this look could sum up the luxe message of the show. If the D&G label is representative of the good life, then it was on full display here.

 

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Alexander McQueen

June 29, 2010 By 1 Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

 
Collection: Alexander McQueen
Designer: Sarah Burton
Season: Spring Summer 2011
 
 
 
At the McQueen menswear show in Milan, Sarah Burton, the new creative director and, since 2000, the head of design for the womenswear, showed her first menswear collection for the house. Having worked with Alexander McQueen for fourteen years, she understood more than who he was as a designer but who he was as a person and she is continuing his legacy respectfully and seamlessly.
  
It was achingly cool but wearable, a dance between the very wearable and touch of madness that only the McQueen man will understand. Make no mistake; there were clothes here that any clever man would sport. If people talk about the past meeting the future too often, let them, because that is what this was, captured seemingly effortlessly. It was a fluid and masterful execution of jackets, either second skin suiting, belted washed black leather or loose long fitting coats. Grey pants with black insets on the outer leg, for example, or baggy striped pants worn with, say, a waistcoat or a tucked in, high collared shirt. A red and gold brocade coat was memorable, but a baggy black sweater with oversized neck hole with a crisp white shirt underneath was as chic and youthful as can be.
 
 
Thank you, Ms. Burton, for nurturing and continuing Lee’s spirit so well.
 

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Marni

June 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Marni
Designer: Consuelo Castiglioni
Season: Spring Summer 2011

Consuelo Castiglioni’s menswear collection for Marni felt youthful and very New York. Clearly, these were clothes for downtown. Cuffed denim and a backpack made us want to be sixteen again, but let us move into adulthood, as this collection did. “It had a sort of rigorousness that is new to Marni in sense,” said Marni stylist Lucinda Chambers of the Fall womenswear collection, but these words would be entirely appropriate here too. A cropped sweater or a long, loose collared shirt could be layered under hooded cropped jackets. Cropped pants were everywhere. The signature Marni graphics could be found in skinny ties, shorts and long shirts that were layered. Indeed, it was about layering in an extreme way, but there were as many ideas about the art of layering as there were layers in the looks.

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Bottega Veneta

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Bottega Veneta
Designer: Tomas Maier
Season: Spring Summer 2011

 

The man who was partly responsible for putting the words “power dressing” on editors’ lips last season, Tomas Maier, has decided to feel a bit relaxed. It’s spring, after all, but luckily for the Bottega Veneta man there will still be plenty of men’s suiting to choose from for spring.

It began with patchwork suits in camel and beige, and double breasted suits in white or cement grey that had an ease and modernity that is addictive. It’s “something you can think about but you can’t get to”, Maier said in reference to fishnet bodysuit last season. Is he proposing it for men this time around? No, It was sophisticated but very youthful, as were the shirts in the same green or brown as the shorts they were paired with, with asymmetrical closures that unbuttoned to the shoulder. Much of the collection was baggy or crumpled, but there were instances of an athletic element, with mesh-like inserts. Indeed, the nylon, cotton, suede and leathers provided a sumptuous diversity, as did the incredibly diverse looks of the models, who were both very young and older. If the womenswear runways are crying out for diversity and less ageism, why can’t the men? Well, the cardigans in the blue or rich red hues that accompanied the baggy pants certainly did suggest being comfortable in one’s skin. Easy, loose fitting suits finished the show and while the show may not have given us great insights into the mind of Maier, it left us thinking on our way to the dressing area. No, we wouldn’t dare!

 

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Missoni

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Missoni
Designer: Angela Missoni
Season: Spring Summer 2011

 

It seems it takes someone who cares a great deal or someone who doesn’t care very much and wants ease and comfort and easy clothes, wearing the elongated, loose and hallucination inducing colorful sweaters at Missoni.

A touch of psychedelia is nothing new to Missoni, as the house’s signature zig zag pattern has always suggested a kind of chic and luxe freedom, but it’s clear that Angela Missoni has plans to take the label elsewhere, but where exactly has yet to be decided. That’s okay, as she works out where to take her brand. Oranges, blues, reds, really every color, danced together on plaids, stripes and zig zags on sweater vests, jackets and oversized shirts.

 
It was the quintessential picture of layering, but really seeing every layer, thanks to Missoni’s eye for detail, which helped every color and pattern stand out on its own. It made us want to be at a Woodstock of the future, hanging out in a tent and being cool and young. With the house of Missoni, there is always a sort of elegant mystery, but Missoni has opened the door a little bit with its offerings for spring. We would love to run in and stay awhile. Oh, and we take our tea with just milk.
 
 

 

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Burberry Prorsum

June 23, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

Collection: Burberry Prorsum
Designer: Christopher Bailey
Season: Spring Summer 2011 

 
Christopher Bailey must have been in a bit of a subversive mood when he showed his menswear collection for Burberry in Milan. The studded vests, jackets and belts resembled what the young men who stand outside after the shows in Paris might wear. On second thought, it may have been a collection for a British soldier who plays with his bands in the evenings. What would they be called?
 
 Later on, white mesh sweaters were effortlessly worn with a structured jacket or trench and paired with Bailey’s gladiator-like sandals. Collared shirts with, once again, epaulettes, were sheer and suggestive. The second-skin motorcycle jackets or sweaters felt chic and strong, but still felt incredibly optimistic.

But what about the clothes? It was about mixing a recipe of fabrics and textures, like pairing leather with jersey, for example, or one long trench whose sleeves were a sort of hide. Incarnations of army inspired jackets and braided sweaters worn with tight black pants tucked into knee high boots that had the look of Wellingtons. Leather made an appearance on studded belts, jackets and the trench coats, which were longer than usual, or the jackets that were quite short.

 

It was a mix of hard and soft, which is perhaps the real masculinity of today. Hard elements were paired with soft ones, but make no mistake; this was a man’s man collection. Perhaps he is wearing these clothes in our dreams.


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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Jil Sander

June 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski 

It would seem, looking at Raf Simon’s Spring 2011 collection for Jil Sander, that Simons has a sweet tooth. Indeed, the fluorescent colors that could be found on boxy knits, tees, and pants were practically cavity inducing, but more than anything may induce lust into the minds of the Jil Sander man. The fluorescent pink collared shirt with equally mesmerizing orange pants, or the green sweater worn with yellow pants were the quintessential Jil Sander looks on offer. Sweaters featured stripes in the same color palette, both horizontal and vertical, to achieve a sense of psychedelia, but the belted jackets worn with shorts brought us back down to Earth, albeit a sophisticated one. Florals were small and looked painterly on tees, at times worn under a belted 3/4 length blue or red jacket, or were oversized on crisp, white shirts. When Simons took a pause to focus on men’s suiting, the mood changed, but only for a moment. Narrow black suits were belted and severe, perhaps a nod to Simons’ work for his own eponymous label.
 

The collection managed to effortlessly capture and translate the Jil Sander message and maintain the house’s DNA. While Simons may have been an architect in a previous life, if you believe in that sort of thing, he chose to show simple and effective shapes with a focus on lush colors. These clothes were deceptively simple, but lend the wearer a look that is complex, clever and, yes, seductive. If power and a clever attitude are seductive, then Simons has us in the palm of his hand.

 

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S/S 2011 Menswear Collection Report: Haider Ackermann

June 20, 2010 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Kowalinski

 
 

Haider Ackermann is thinking of a romantic man strolling through a palazzo in the early evening. His Spring 2011 show, also his menswear debut, was presented in Florence and was an exercise in draping and layering. His ideas from the womenswear translated into the men’s, as he focused on the waist and haphazardly tied layers at the waist.

Wide, loose pants and harem pants, accompanied the looks, but one couldn’t dismiss this collection as being simply ethnic. No, the ideas there – the loose cardigans, vests or jackets belted or tied at the waist had the distinct Ackermann ease that echoed in the womenswear. These, including the pants, were in rich blue, red, orange, and black and grey to offer structure and a touch of severity. Although the collection was in no way a “unisex” collection, Ackermann’s menswear could easily be worn by both men and women. Looking at the men, it seems he is not overly interested in assigning gender roles. The models were both young and older, men and women, and Ackermann seemed to be telling us to do what we will with the clothes and wear them however we wish. This idea is exactly what fashion should be in 2011.

 

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