when simplicity makes you dream

What type of clothing deserves to be presented on a catwalk? The question has animated the profession since ready-to-wear supplanted haute couture in the 1960s and fashion shows stopped showing only the exceptional, but also everyday wardrobe. In recent years, most designers believed that fashion shows were above all communication tools to showcase collections that challenged conventions. For this fall-winter 2024-2025 men’s season, presented in Paris from January 16 to 21, the trend is reversed, with a lot of very wearable clothing. But to continue to capture attention – or even arouse admiration – brands are doubling down on ingenuity.

At Dior, “It’s a proposal that goes straight to the point”says Kim Jones. “I think more than ever about the consumer and what they are looking for from us: sweaters, jackets, jackets. Pieces to buy and keep, it’s that simple. » Its suits come in neutral tones – gray, brown or beige – with single-breasted buttons and slightly flared pants; plush leather zip-up jackets are all-terrain; the long wool coats with fine stripes, of perfect elegance; everything is cut from sumptuous materials.

To spice up this impeccable but very classic wardrobe, Kim Jones plays on styling: he summons the memory of the dancer Rudolf Nureyev, whom his uncle Colin Jones had photographed, and inserts second-skin knits and ballerinas in the middle of this timeless wardrobe. , turbans, boat necks that leave the shoulders bare.

Furthermore, Kim Jones highlights Dior’s expertise in tailor-made tailoring with twenty couture looks of unusual opulence, based on jackets with rhinestone collars shining like a disco ball, or a canvas cape. Jouy embroidered with silver thread. In addition, the staging of the fashion show is perfect for generating buzz on the Internet: the central part of the stage where the couture models are gathered turns on itself and rises, with, around, an audience of stars as large as varied, from the model Kate Moss to the sportsman Lewis Hamilton via the K-pop group Tomorrow X Together.

Theatrical staging also at AMI. At the Paris Tennis Club, Alexandre Mattiussi recreated the facade of a Parisian building, with moldings, stone balconies and a carriage entrance from which the models emerge. “This collection represents the life of a building at 5 a.m. There are those who return from a festive night on the town and others who go to the office”he relates.

This creates an elegant and attractive wardrobe, whether it’s straight wool coats, wide pants worn low on the hips with a T-shirt stitched with shiny sequins, striped double-breasted suits or even loose culottes. The color palette – chocolate brown, navy blue, mouse gray… – is sober and tasteful. “It’s not pretentious or snobbish. That’s not what interests me. I try to offer the right coat, the right trench coat, the right patent leather jacket or the black coat, very simple but impeccable. »

At Kenzo, the Japanese jack-of-all-trades Nigo – stylist, DJ, music producer, long-time collaborator of Pharrell Williams – capitalizes on the gap between the majestic Labrouste room of the renovated Richelieu library and his cloakroom which mixes the codes of Japanese school uniform to the world of Akira Kurosawa’s samurai films, and the influence they had on the series Star Wars.

Its wearable winter pieces – leather jackets, baseball jackets, striped flannel suits, duffle coats, kimono-style down jackets, embroidered jeans – are full of historical references to the house founded by Kenzo Takada in 1978. We thus find the floral patterns on jacket and pants sets or even geometric weaving on suits, knitted sweaters or long coats. “I like the idea of ​​using typically Japanese details on Western clothing, like Kenzo himself did”explains the 53-year-old designer.

Faded denim and grandpa sweater

Rather than focusing on decor, some designers focus on attention to detail to make a classic wardrobe unique. This is the case of Véronique Nichanian at Hermès, who presented in the sober setting of the Palais d’Iéna the wardrobe of a “versatile man, how is life today”. “I like to put clothes inside out, play with proportions, create associations, shake up the great timeless pieces”recognizes the designer who has managed to arouse desire every season since her arrival at Hermès in 1988.

On the program for next winter: pea coats and short jackets, enveloping coats to lengthen the silhouette, narrow pants that make the legs look slimmer. The classicism of a Prince of Wales or tennis striped suit is countered by the wearing of shoes with rubber soles, the colors are rather dark – anthracite, peat, petrol -, the black evening pieces shine in lustrous calfskin or iridescent woolen cloth. Sparingly, flashes of anise or purple illuminate the whole, an exposed seam or a thread fluttering in the wind, as if the garment was not quite finished. “The charm is the shift, the twist that makes it not exactly perfect”, reveals Véronique Nichanian.

“Showing unwearable clothes on the catwalk is not my way of doing things. Everything we present is produced and sold, we are in real life! », defends Paul Smith. The English designer has in fact always demonstrated pragmatism, continuing his research each season around the classy but not stuffy men’s wardrobe. The formal proposal is tightened around a few strong ideas: playing with fabrics by using them in the wrong way, like these pants cut from the nylon that is usually used for jackets or these cargo pants with big pockets cut from precious Italian wool.

And above all, mix genres: a flannel suit is worn with a fuzzy mohair sweater, faded denim is combined with a grandpa sweater and a preppy tie. The locker room is awakened by an original color palette, “all the nuances of eggplant” (dixit Paul Smith), acid green, buttercup, measured in just the right amount, just enough to keep the attention of the audience.

At Auralee, we have the impression of seeing people on the podium that we might meet in the street: one comes out of the dry cleaners with his clothes on a hanger and in plastic in his arms; another seems to be going to a wedding and is carrying a suit in a bag; there are those who have just left work and still have their badge around their neck. Normality is showcased, but is also found in this pragmatic and refined wardrobe inspired by the transition between office life and nightlife.

Impeccably cut suits and ties, long coats worn over jeans and a soft knit sweater, a wrap-around pea coat over loose pants or even long jackets with patch pockets, the look is elegant and unadorned. Pastel colors, light yellow, sea green or even lilac mauve, perfectly serve this collection made with high quality materials, including Mongolian cashmere. For his first show at Paris Fashion Week, Japanese designer Ryota Iwai proves that it is not always necessary to go to great lengths to get it right.