Saint Laurent kicks off Paris men's fashion week
Saint Laurent opened Paris Men's Fashion Week on Tuesday with a playful, 1970s-inspired collection, as the industry reels from the revolving door of creative directors and a diminished appetite for luxury goods.
See catwalk
Saint Laurent kicked things off with a spring-summer 2026 collection mixing shorts with strong shoulder pads, plus rolled-up darted trousers with loose trench coats nonchalantly tied at the waist.
Shorts, evoking those worn by the label's founder, Yves Saint Laurent, in his youth, were paired with bright and loose long-sleeved shirts and finished off with oversized sunglasses.
The show, set to be followed by Louis Vuitton 's Pharrell Williams, marked Saint Laurent's official return to the fashion week fold after a two-and-a-half-year absence from the Paris men's fashion official calendar.
Heads have been rolling across much of the luxury industry as bumper profits have plunged, with brands grappling with a reduced appetite for luxury products.
Saint Laurent's parent group Kering is no exception, with a drop in sales last year wiping 28 percent off its share price since the turn of the year.
But shares shot back up 12 percent last week after former Renault boss Luca de Meo was named as Kering's new chief executive.
Fashion buyer Alice Feillard of Galeries Lafayette, Europe's biggest department store chain, said the return of Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello to men's fashion week was "rather a good thing", and would help reinforce the label's men's line.
Ahead of his show scheduled later Tuesday, Williams, the American singer-turned-designer, teased his latest creation -- "coffee bean brown" denims -- in a social media post.
See catwalk
The man who got the world dancing to his catchy hit "Happy" predicted the new Louis Vuitton jeans he will unveil at his Paris show will become a "future staple" in fashionable wardrobes.
Williams posted a rear-end photo of the roomy medium-brown jeans on Instagram, saying they are "woven -- not dyed", and are finished with an untreated leather belt loop echoing Vuitton's monogram and the fashion house's trunk-making roots.
The singer and producer usually draws a galaxy of music, film and sports stars to his Paris shows, the locations often as glamorous as his guest list.
This time Williams is putting his Vuitton bags down in front of the Pompidou Centre modern art museum just before the architectural icon closes for a major overhaul.
US basketball legend LeBron James and French San Antonio Spurs star Victor "Wemby" Wembanyama are likely to be there as ambassadors for the brand, as well as Olympic swimming sensation Leon Marchand.
The invitation sent to guests, a set of dice in a leather keyring case, hints the designer may be taking something of a gamble.
The packed six days of Paris shows are in stark contrast to London -- which cancelled its men's shows completely -- and the rather thinned-out line-up in Milan last week.
The French capital will see a "rather dense programme with big headliners including Jonathan Anderson", who will be making his highly anticipated debut at Dior on Friday, said Adrien Communier of French GQ magazine.
The Northern Irish designer is the first to oversee the men's, women's and haute couture lines at the fabled French house since its founder, Christian Dior.
In all, some 70 brands will unveil their latest looks across 40 runway shows and 30 presentations that end late Sunday with the French label Jacquemus.
Anderson, the son of former Irish rugby captain Willie Anderson, had previously turned around the rather fusty Spanish house Loewe. He was named as the head of Dior's women's collection earlier this month, replacing the Italian Maria Grazia Chiuri.
Belgian Julian Klausner, 33, who took over at Dries Van Noten in December, will also show his first men's collection for the label on Wednesday.
Communier predicted the trend for stripes "which we saw a lot in Milan is going to continue".
But with men's fashion becoming a "little bit dull" in recent years, he said, we "really need to be surprised".
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Fashion Network
2 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Hermès: Summer in the city
"Hot town, summer in the city," were the lyrics to B.B. King's greatest classic, and the leitmotif of an insouciantly chic Hermès collection staged on a steamy Saturday in Paris. See catwalk Presented inside the Conseil de Surveillance, a temple to French 1930s Rationalist architecture, a beautiful building sadly devoid of air conditioning. So much so, the cast looked the coolest people – literally and figuratively – at this show. An airy collection, where trousers were made of leather lattice material, and cardigans in knitted leather. Half the shirts had openings, inserts or little fabric windows, 'latticed with light and air,' in the words of Hermès designer, Véronique Nichanian. Lightness in leisure, with striking new proportions - wide pants and short jackets – and a huge sense of ease. 'It's about a guy being cool in the city, and the sense of the wind blowing through it,' added Nichanian. She opened with surgical smocks or Henleys – in second-skin calfskin, all worn with a new fringed foulard. Not a tie anywhere. Then played around with multifunctional garments – chemise jackets or safari/parkas. When she did work with exotic skins, she used them in hunters gilets. Her leather sandals full of slits; her flip flops were trimmed with rope. Over a dozen guys carried huge, big bags, totes, weekenders or sailor keep-alls. See catwalk 'I love a great big bag, since I am a tiny one,' laughed the diminutive, but always dynamic designer. Big deep bags made in canvas and leather, or finished in prints of show jumpers or a dancing monkey, 'just for fun, as we need a little more these days.' After last season, when she stunned Hermès veterans with a squadron of shorts, Nichanian this time abandoned them completely, just when every second menswear collection had multiple short pants options. She made it her much admired understated palette of putty, string, vanilla, dust and coffee, and produced in the finest fabrics available, there is no better statement of easy elegance in menswear today than Hermès. The opening lines of King's classic tune rhymes: 'Hot town, summer in the city. Back of my neck getting' dirty and gritty.' Nothing could be further from that chez Hermès, thanks to these excellent clothes.
Fashion Network
2 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Paris: Juun.J revisits tailoring, Officine Générale lightens the wardrobe
Men's fashion presents a variety of facets. Between the wardrobe of the businessman and that of the artist, there are a myriad of nuances that can be introduced to create a wardrobe that is inventive, desirable, and yet practical and comfortable. This was demonstrated on Friday by the Parisian label Officine Générale and the South Korean label Juun.J, in two completely opposing styles, during the Paris Men's Fashion Week dedicated to Spring-Summer 2026. See catwalk This season, Pierre Mahéo welcomes guests to the rue Jules Chaplain, home to his label's headquarters, right next to the Mk2 Parnasse cinema, creating a friendly, summery atmosphere from the outset. The collection is aptly named "Pariviera", blending Officine Générale's typical Parisian style with a more relaxed, seaside touch. "It's a little geographical fantasy that I've tried to translate into clothing with a collection designed to cope with the heat," explained the entrepreneur-designer. A significant focus was placed on materials, ensuring they were as airy as possible to provide the garments with suppleness. Several outfits were crafted from poplin - a parachute-like fabric. Others used featherweight striped fabrics made from a blend of cotton, linen, and Tencel. Shirts and suits were offered in seersucker weighing just 110 grams per linear meter, offering an air-draped body sensation. Suede jackets and small leather jackets were naturally soft, while silk makes an elegant appearance for evening wear. The pajama-style shirt is worn almost like a jacket over a white T-shirt and drawstring pants. Mao-collar shirts were also gaining popularity. Jackets devoid of structure and lining are tied at the waist like a sweater, in tone-on-tone combinations with shirts and pants. The silhouettes were fluid, with garments cascading effortlessly without clinging to the body, merely grazing it. Everything exuded lightness and nonchalance in this wardrobe, characterized by a neutral palette, punctuated by nautical details, from sailor knits to windbreaker-collared shirts. Models casually walk down the street in flip-flops or comfortable leather slippers, with a scarf tied as a Keith Richards-style headband, and occasionally daring to wear a shell necklace. In a casual gesture, they tucked shirts into pants without buttoning them. A scoubidou cord woven from cotton strips serves as a belt. They rolled up their sleeves for a shorter look, and the hem of the pants is hastily rolled up. And so they set off for a stroll along the beach. See catwalk At Juun.J, garments were split and layered. All pants, for instance, were systematically supplemented with another model in a different fabric, draped along the right leg like a large side panel. Another approach was to unbutton the pants at the top on the side, allowing the waistband to fold down in the front, revealing another pair beneath. Leather pants or shorts were exposed under wool trousers; jeans appear beneath a business suit; rugged pants emerge beneath canvas trousers. As always, the Korean designer works with large volumes, but this season he's departing from his usual streetwear inspiration for a more sophisticated, almost couture-like approach. Suits were precisely tailored to create a silhouette inspired by the elegance of the 1940s, while subtly nodding to the power dressing of the nineties. Jackets boast pronounced shoulders before tapering at the waist, while pleated pants drape generously. The suit was paired with flip-flops. Conversely, summer shorts were teamed with loafers and knee-high socks. Occasionally, the Juun.J man ventured into bolder territories, donning a tuxedo jacket over a denim tank top, or adopting a sailor look with a striped knit featuring a boat neck, white cotton pants with black stripes, and a small wool hat. His wardrobe didn't lack a leather jacket, a nylon bomber, a military jacket, or canvas overalls. "I wanted to showcase the significant fashion and clothing errors made by both men and women. But also how these errors can transform into a very cool and unique form of fashion," explained designer Jung Wook Jun.
Fashion Network
2 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Paris: Juun.J revisits tailoring, Officine Générale lightens the wardrobe
Men's fashion presents a variety of facets. Between the wardrobe of the businessman and that of the artist, there are a myriad of nuances that can be introduced to create a wardrobe that is inventive, desirable, and yet practical and comfortable. This was demonstrated on Friday by the Parisian label Officine Générale and the South Korean label Juun.J, in two completely opposing styles, during the Paris Men's Fashion Week dedicated to Spring-Summer 2026. See catwalk This season, Pierre Mahéo welcomes guests to the rue Jules Chaplain, home to his label's headquarters, right next to the Mk2 Parnasse cinema, creating a friendly, summery atmosphere from the outset. The collection is aptly named "Pariviera", blending Officine Générale's typical Parisian style with a more relaxed, seaside touch. "It's a little geographical fantasy that I've tried to translate into clothing with a collection designed to cope with the heat," explained the entrepreneur-designer. A significant focus was placed on materials, ensuring they were as airy as possible to provide the garments with suppleness. Several outfits were crafted from poplin - a parachute-like fabric. Others used featherweight striped fabrics made from a blend of cotton, linen, and Tencel. Shirts and suits were offered in seersucker weighing just 110 grams per linear meter, offering an air-draped body sensation. Suede jackets and small leather jackets were naturally soft, while silk makes an elegant appearance for evening wear. The pajama-style shirt is worn almost like a jacket over a white T-shirt and drawstring pants. Mao-collar shirts were also gaining popularity. Jackets devoid of structure and lining are tied at the waist like a sweater, in tone-on-tone combinations with shirts and pants. The silhouettes were fluid, with garments cascading effortlessly without clinging to the body, merely grazing it. Everything exuded lightness and nonchalance in this wardrobe, characterized by a neutral palette, punctuated by nautical details, from sailor knits to windbreaker-collared shirts. Models casually walk down the street in flip-flops or comfortable leather slippers, with a scarf tied as a Keith Richards-style headband, and occasionally daring to wear a shell necklace. In a casual gesture, they tucked shirts into pants without buttoning them. A scoubidou cord woven from cotton strips serves as a belt. They rolled up their sleeves for a shorter look, and the hem of the pants is hastily rolled up. And so they set off for a stroll along the beach. See catwalk At Juun.J, garments were split and layered. All pants, for instance, were systematically supplemented with another model in a different fabric, draped along the right leg like a large side panel. Another approach was to unbutton the pants at the top on the side, allowing the waistband to fold down in the front, revealing another pair beneath. Leather pants or shorts were exposed under wool trousers; jeans appear beneath a business suit; rugged pants emerge beneath canvas trousers. As always, the Korean designer works with large volumes, but this season he's departing from his usual streetwear inspiration for a more sophisticated, almost couture-like approach. Suits were precisely tailored to create a silhouette inspired by the elegance of the 1940s, while subtly nodding to the power dressing of the nineties. Jackets boast pronounced shoulders before tapering at the waist, while pleated pants drape generously. The suit was paired with flip-flops. Conversely, summer shorts were teamed with loafers and knee-high socks. Occasionally, the Juun.J man ventured into bolder territories, donning a tuxedo jacket over a denim tank top, or adopting a sailor look with a striped knit featuring a boat neck, white cotton pants with black stripes, and a small wool hat. His wardrobe didn't lack a leather jacket, a nylon bomber, a military jacket, or canvas overalls. "I wanted to showcase the significant fashion and clothing errors made by both men and women. But also how these errors can transform into a very cool and unique form of fashion," explained designer Jung Wook Jun.
