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Paris Fashion Week FW 2015-16 Menswear: Something for Everyone

After London and Milan, it was the French capital that became the focus of the trend-oriented fashionistos and fashionistas from all around the world.

This year’s Paris Fashion Week gathered a series of French and International designers that showcased their fall-winter 2015-16 collections. Just like in London and Milan, the collections were varied and presented a large spectrum of styles, colors, shapes and fabrics.

From of all the things presented during this season’s Paris Fashion Week, one of the trends that stood out on the runway was a military-inspired aesthetic, which was used by several designers and fashion houses, such as Dries Van Noten, Boris Bidjan and Balmain.

However, the event was marked by two main events: the Dior orchestra surprise and Rick Owens’ latest looks.

The Dior menswear show made news as it began with the reveal of an orchestra that had been hidden from the public until the beginning of the show. Over 30 trombonists, violinists and other musicians had stood hidden for over an hour, the time it took for the crowd to gather and take their places. The surprise worked in Dior’s favor, as the attendees of the fashion show were in awe to see a Dior-wearing orchestra appear before their eyes. The orchestra performed a classical interpretation of Ivorian electronic music composer’s Koudlam’s “The Landsc Apes”. This way, Dior created a musical equivalent to their “techno-sartorial” collection, which is how the show was described. The traditional was fused with the cutting edge in an audio-visual metaphor of modernity and tradition.

A look from Rick Owens Collection – the clothes that let the models privates show were not very wearable

The other moment that marked this Fashion Week was represented by Rick Owens’ show, during which the models wearing clothes that featured cuts around their crotches displayed their privates for a brief moment. Rick Ownes, who is known for his sexual approach to fashion, claimed after the show that “nudity is the most simple and primal gesture”. The idea to display men’s privates down the runway was a first and caused a lot of controversy. However, it can be said that it was something that was bound to happen. However, the question that remains is whether it was truly non-sexual and decent. While most commentators argued that there was nothing obscene about it, which is probably how the whole thing seemed at the moment of the show, it can be also said that offering a tease show, you will definitely draw a lot of attention and cause a storm around your show, which makes the fashion show even more of a discourse about penises than it would have if the nudity had been more obvious. And, as the clothes featured holes right around the model’s crotches, we can conclude that the show was a discourse on men’s privates. And, even though there is nothing wrong with talking about sex, on the contrary, sometimes discussions on taboo topics should take place, especially if we are talking about men’s penises – one of the biggest taboos today, these conversations should not be camouflaged into something they’re not, as this can turn the subject into an even bigger taboo.

Despite the fact that a lot of focus went into Dior’s musical surprise and Owens’ crotch surprise, we need to remember that there were other collections presented during PFW too.

Continuing the tone started by London and perpetuated by Milan, the designs showcased during PFW were quite safe, but nevertheless impressive in terms of materials, colors and cuts. From Saint Laurent’s high heels and Acne’s gender-challenging looks to Walter Van Beirendonck’s political collection, there were plenty of things to see, even though the collections did not leave us in awe.

 

In the gallery below, you can take a look at some of our favorite looks from the show and discover why we liked it and what fashion rules they teach us.

 

 

 

Fraquoh and Franchomme

 

 

 

 

 

P.S. What did you think of the collections? Which one did you like best? What is your stance on the controversial issue? Share your thoughts in the comments below! For more articles on style, fashion tips and cultural insights, you can subscribe to Attire Club via e-mail or follow us on Facebook or Twitter!

 

 

5 replies on “Paris Fashion Week FW 2015-16 Menswear: Something for Everyone”

Besides being hard to wear, it can be also hard to find an occasion to wear the Rick Owens collection – where do you think would be a good place to wear those items?

Hmmm…that is a good question. Probably not during daylight hours in public…if it is worn the same way as it was shown LOL. I’m guessing this type of attire is better suited for a nighttime, somewhat private setting (if I had to choose a place). What’s your opinion?

Yes, maybe a nonconformist club would be the place to wear something like this – even though the designs were probably made to go in the “fashion as art” category, rather than in the “wearable clothes” one.

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