Paris was literally burning the past week. At the Dior show during the recently concluded fashion week in the French capital, the heat wave compelled some guests to take their tops off. Blogger Bryan Boy even posted a shot of the sweaty butt marks on the seats at the show on Twitter.
Editors, bloggers, A-list celebrities and social media stars, some of those dressed by the brands showcasing their menswear shows, all complained about the heat. Perhaps that's why many of the men's fashion showcases on the Paris Fashion Week spring-summer 24 runway included itsy-bitsy tanks, singlets, halter tops and shorts of various lengths.
Here are some key trends that emerged:
Tank tops made their presence felt like never before. Many presentations showed that you don't need layers of polo tees and blazers when you can breathe easily in well-cut singlets crafted in summer-friendly fabrics like mesh. Labels like Lazoschmidl, Dries Van Noten, Ludovic de Saint Sernin, Egon Lab and Etro saw plenty of them worn either in the shape of trousers or micro shorts.
It's raining lightweight preppy cardigans and jumpers. Louis Vuitton's Pharrell Williams sent out a couple of cardigans paired with schoolboy shorts, slightly evoking Chanel (the design house he was formally associated with). At Dior Men's show, which marked Kim Jones' fifth anniversary, the designer showcased tweedy, textured cardigans and double breasted car coats textured with the house motif, the Cannage. Dior's tweed jumpers worn with the matching tweed short shorts, meanwhile, evoked instant desirability. There were plenty of knits at Ami, Amiri, Givenchy, Loewe, Hermès and Paul Smith too.
Sheer fabrics in menswear have been popular for a couple of seasons now and this edition of Paris Fashion Week too had designers like Wooyoungmee, Egon Lab, LGN, Dries, Marine Serre, Ludovic experimenting with diaphanous textiles and engineered mesh. Skin is definitely in.
The Ivy League aesthetic shows no signs of fading out, with designers sending out plenty of varsity jackets this season. Bombers have been around for a while now and given their variations at Louis Vuitton, Givenchy, Wales Bonner, Hermès, Sacai and Alyx, they're going to be everywhere coming spring-summer too.
Micro shorts, which were a major story at the Milan menswear week, made their presence felt at the Parisian runway too. Brands like Paul Smith, Dries Van Noten, Dior Men and Hermès presented their versions of it. It was also interesting to see the knee-length shorts that were pleated and tailored, especially those by Givenchy and Ami.
While there was an air of crisp utilitarian minimalism across brands, some brands did venture into the maximalist zone of sparkle. Ami presented an array of sequinned shirts, Dries Van Noten offset his vibrantly hued separates with sequinned shirts and shorts. Kim Jones' Dior Men cardigans were accented with cabochons (polished jewels) while Loewe sent out some head-toe unapologetic shine-on ensembles. Williams' debut at LV, too, saw glistening pearls, sheathing the house Damier motif in ready-to-wear pieces, bags and footwear.
Most designers this season showcased double breasted blazers, some worn with matching shorts and others with voluminous pants with elongated hems. Ami, Givenchy, Wales Bonner, Dior Men and Egon Lab presented some of the key looks, embodying double breasted tailoring.
