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Paris Fashion Week: Amiri, Sean Suen showcase supreme chic, Rick Owens opts for futuristic style
On Thursday, Paris Fashion Week Men unveiled another selection of stunning Fall/Winter 2024-25 collections. Notably, those presented by Rick Owens in his powerfully fascinating show, as well as Mike Amiri with his vibrant, uber-luxurious collection, while Chinese designer Sean Suen refashioned his menswear wardrobe with original high-end looks.
This season, Rick Owens decided against a spectacular presentation at the Palais de Tokyo. The US designer instead staged his show at home, at his headquarters on place du Palais-Bourbon next door to the French Parliament’s building. It was a rather private event, to the sombre, mesmerising soundtrack of David Bowie’s Warszawa.
Gaunt models stepped forward hesitantly, their gait hindered by cumbersome, bulging rubber boots, the fruit of a collaboration with London-based Australian-South African designer Straytukay. Precariously anchored to the floor with these ogive-shaped balloons as footwear, the model’s thin, elongated bodies seemed to float, as though they were trudging through freshly fallen snow, or across unknown terrain.
Their silhouettes were those of galactic warriors glimpsed at various times during their day. They first stepped out with their Goldrake-style padded protective gear, clad in huge quilted gilets, sculptural down jackets with oversize shoulders, pointing either upwards or laterally, and in voluminous leather jackets. In his introductory note, Owens explained that “the proportions are grotesque, inhuman, a screaming reaction against some of the highly disappointing instances of human behaviour we will witness throughout our lives. But there remains the eternal, utopian hope of a better place.”
A hope that could be glimpsed once our heroes from a future galaxy, back from their space missions, set down their armour and breastplates, donning much cosier clothes like the plush jumpsuits in recycled wool, alpaca and cashmere, of which they often wore the bottom part only, the tops hanging loose over their legs, long sleeves dragging on the ground. Some of these loungewear items bore the inscription ‘Porterville’, the name of the southern California town where Owens, who also has Mexican roots, grew up.
The collection was heavily influenced by this cocooning mood, and also featured fleece ensembles and sweatshirts, jumpsuits in felted wool, frayed jersey and plush fur, rounded shaggy capes, and down-filled comforters swathed around the body like a snug jacket.
The other US marque showing in Paris on the fashion week’s third day was Amiri, the label launched in 2014 by Californian designer Mike Amiri. He used to study law and worked for rock bands, designing special stage costumes for them, and eventually launched into fashion by creating luxury denim looks and sophisticated leather items. In a few years, he has made a name for himself, notably with some of the highest-profile US rappers and musicians, who love his luxurious outfits.
Amiri has now discarded denim, replacing it with an ultra-chic, laid-back classic wardrobe, still oozing cool and always veined with a rocker-style vibe, though the new collection was unveiled to a jazz-funk soundtrack. It is all in the fabrics, luxury material like cashmere, silk, mohair, satin and leather, characterised by innovative research with an artisanal touch. Amiri has worked painstakingly on textures this season, creating amazing shimmering effects. The show featured openwork tank tops with an understated glimmer, glimpsed under a silk shirt, wool hats decorated with gemstones, and even a soft mohair cardigan trimmed with rubies. The garments twinkled like firelight, especially the glittering jackets and shirts woven with golden yarn, covered in sequins or embroidered with pearls. Some coats were streaked with fine silvery thread, like raindrops, suits came covered with silver rods, and crystals were ubiquitous. They notably featured on brooches decorating hats, pinned on a gilet’s lapel, and on a satin dinner jacket.
Amiri men appreciate comfy, slightly flared trousers, uncompromisingly chic with their side-stripe. Shirt unbuttoned over an undershirt, or clad in a gorgeous, colourful polo, they wore lavish jackets with nonchalance, their tasselled scarves sneaking down to the thighs, and always carried a discreet but essential man bag. Chequerboard and leopard prints enlivened the collection. For an evening out, these dandyish types dressed to the nines, wearing tailcoat dinner jackets whose ends trailed majestically down to the ground.
Quite a crowd gathered also for the show by Sean Suen, a label whose audience has been growing season after season. The Beijing-born designer, who founded his label in China’s capital in 2012, has distanced himself this time from the Oriental influences that usually inspire him - except for a few Mao-collar jackets – as he reinterpreted menswear’s traditional codes.
A shirt’s collar hovered in the air, and some of the clothes were endlessly replicated. Every garment had a double. A classic suit’s jacket swelled to reach oversize proportions, fastening to one side and revealing its twin. An elegant brushed wool overcoat featured a second layer on its front, made from the coat’s satin lining. A jacket with patch pockets interlocked with a top, and another one, and its replica, were attached to the collar of yet another jacket. Trousers featured trompe l’œil double waists, and a bum bag’s strap was buckled on top of the real belt in another pair.
Thick woollen long johns were worn under high-waisted trousers held up by braces, and matched to a gilet, for a perfect grand-father look, very much in vogue right now. Some of Sean Suen’s young men showed a rebel streak, clad in more risqué outfits like the short jersey tunic worn with thigh-high boots, leaving the derrière bare.
The collection ended with a series of oh-so-classy daddy suits, impeccably cut in fine wools, worn under majestic overcoats and matched with unusual openwork ties. A handful of fur items also cropped up, like muffs and boa scarves.
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