FASHION : Color, Whimsy Mark Menswear Lines for Spring
Color, color and more color came down the runways at the French menswear collections for spring, 1990, shown here last weekend. There were pale pastels, candy stripes and rich spice shades.
Kenzo had his models carry sherbet cones or tropical drinks to help make the point that he likes multicolored-pastel plaid suits or bright, monochromatic linen ensembles for spring and summer.
Hot Spice Night was the name Claude Montana gave to his group of evening clothes in shades of paprika, sage, saffron and mustard. Even more conservative labels, such as Christian Dior by Dominique Morlotti, spiced up tailored suits in tangy colors.
Paul Smith, the London designer who shows in Paris each season and is known for his Technicolor florals, continues to expand his spectrum with boldly colored, pajama-look tops and blossom-print bottoms, as well as paisleys and patchworks. He also shows jeans jackets and jeans in unexpected shades of grape, forest green and turquoise.
Even the Paris-based Japanese designers, notoriously fond of black in past seasons, see a brighter fashion future. For his stage set, Yohji Yamamoto spelled his name out in shades of yellow, rose, pale blue and green. And he opened his show with a scarlet blouson jacket. Comme des Garcons designer, Rei Kawakubo, showed sport jackets in color blocks of gold, maroon and navy--or blue, olive and rust. She also advocates fashion flower power with a tearose-print sport jacket coupled with cloudy-sky-blue pants. Issey Miyake is in a blue mood for evening with a group of casual separates that are shaded from robin’s egg to indigo.
Though the French tend to tailor their clothing a touch more than the Milanese or New York designers (shoulders are generally broad, and jackets are slightly nipped at the waist), the international trend for less-constructed and more relaxed looks is prevalent among Paris designers for spring.
The Omnipresent Sweats
Sweat clothes are shown for street wear, often in a dressy/casual vein, such as the gold sweat top with pompom strings at the neck and matching sweat pants worn under a white cotton double-breasted jacket at Comme des Garcons.
Paul Smith jazzes up his sweats in polka dots and stripes. Nino Cerruti, who has long been a fan of sweat clothes for street wear, also believes in the sport jacket/sweat pant ensemble that is perfect for a Southern California sprint from gym to office. Cerruti also brings back the clamdigger-length pants for casual wear. Hooded sweat shirts with suits that have knit cuffs on the pants is another outdoor athletic approach to traditional modes of dress, shown at Jean Paul Gaultier.
Gaultier, much of whose menswear has had an erotic, sensual theme since he began designing (he refers to the look as homme fatale) , seems to be doing a kind of sartorial striptease this season. Suits and vests often have only one shoulder, with the other bared. A black jeans jacket is totally cut out in front. Legs are also bared, with tight knit shorts shown under sport jackets that just cover the shorts. The ultimate striptease may be Gaultier’s clear raincoats with skeletons painted on them.
The designer, who is considered the most avant-garde in Paris, also does a kind of para-military look for the professional man. A navy pin-striped, wool suit is worn with a grommeted belt at the waist and cargo pockets on the jacket and pants. A gray wool pin-striped vest with utility pockets looks like a cross between banker and battalion-commander garb. Gaultier also shows the most amusing accessories of the season--cheese graters, false teeth or American Express cards worn on chains around the neck, like dog tags.
Chiffon and Lace for Men
Roelli-Testu also gets a bit sexy for spring/summer with see-through black shirts in chiffon or lace, worn under the design team’s three-button black suits. The three-button silhouette is the progressive silhouette shown everywhere.
At SEHM--the Paris menswear trade show that coincides with the runway shows and features some 700 exhibitors, chiefly from France, Britain, Spain and the United States--the overwhelming popular item of the season is the long-sleeved shirt in a bold print. Many relate to a whimsical theme. Some are made even more special with embroidery. Designer Joseph Tricot’s prints of flowers, fish and maps of the world seem to have a “Save the Planet” consciousness.
And a company called Royal Cross does an amusing print that should travel well to the United States. It shows the license plates of America.
