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MEN’S FASHION WEEK Spring 2017 A.P.C. Vouge.com Given his track record of enlivening A.P.C. presentations with culturally and politically charged spiel, Jean Touitou was bound to have an opinion on Brexit. Simply put, he expressed no surprise. “We are entering a new loop in history, which is totally reactionary,” he said, hypothesizing that the U.S., France, and Italy might face similar fates. Was he concerned? “Oh yes, but I’ve been terrified from a long time ago, back when I was this age,” he replied, pointing to his T-shirt printed with a photo of a foxy Jean Touitou, aged 15. The two Touitous—then and now—provided an entry point into this collection, which will arrive in stores just as the brand enters into its 30th year. Its founder, meanwhile, recently reached the legal age of retirement in France. Leaving aside sentimentality, the milestones marked an opportunity to pay respect to the brand’s workwear DNA, which, Touitou rightly noted, has gotten better with age (more resources, more research). For example: Dungarees and a ribbed pullover were uniquely bleached and overprinted, respectively, to achieve an authentically lived-in look before ever being worn. Roomy jeans, ordinarily a tough sell, were justifiable when paired with a deep indigo, contrast-stitched postman’s jacket. Amid the continued trend toward graphic streetwear, a crisp mac over a shirt patterned in stylized propellers (care of graphic artist Pierre Marie) and a cable-knit tucked into high-waist denim made a compelling case against cool. The streamlined designs from Louis Wong, a member of the design team whose label, Louis W., exists under the A.P.C. umbrella (see the looks photographed against a white sheet), benefited from an updated spin on old-school hip-hop—specifically, an army blouson and drawstring pant in cotton sateen that could be mistaken for a leather tracksuit. On the subject of leather, guests could be heard posing, “What does it mean?” in reference to Brexit implications, while Touitou was showing this journalist a molded pochette known as a porte valeur—its literal meaning, an “asset holder” that can be worn around the neck. Without any grandstanding gesture, Touitou acknowledged the irony with amusement. “Before I would talk of anything, but not of fashion. Now it’s the editors who are shocked by the situation and don’t want to talk about fashion.” The times they are a-changin’. WWD The Nineties skateboard culture A.P.C. founder Jean Touitou referenced in relation to the label’s spring collection for men was less than obvious, but what the collection did offer was a charming proposition of relaxed shapes and washed-out colors that verged on dusty pastels, giving them masculine appeal. Less preppy than the label’s recent collections, the collection focused heavily on baggy overalls in a range of washed-out denim or railway-striped canvases. These were paired with loose ribbed sweaters printed tone on tone so they looked to be bleached by the sun and wide shirt-style jackets with a workwear feel. There were still elements of the almost gauche rigidity that has become part of the brand’s geek-chic signature, nevertheless, as in a pair of midlength waterproof fabric shorts or a Prince of Wales check Oxford coat. Business of Fashion At A.P.C., Jean Touitou continues morphing and expanding the repertoire of his forte — clean, pragmatic dressing. This season he moved away from French chic to cater to urban vibes with workwear nods. It translated into a modular wardrobe of glorified post-basics in singular colours that looked fresh and tempting. Personal Review This was a very wearable collection. The clothing looked nice, but the colors and styles were boring. This was not an overly exciting season for A.P.C., but the clothes still looked pretty. These pieces would be great for layering with other clothes. ACNE STUDIOS Vogue.com Jonny Johansson, creative director of Acne, masterminded a strange and interesting game of musical chairs in the romantically ravaged interior of the Lycée Charlemagne. Every 60 seconds or so, the PA would stop pumping and his models would get up and pull their metal-legged chairs here and there across the floor before sitting down again once the tunes resumed. At first sight they appeared to be wearing tents, or at least something tentatively tent-ish of aspect, and that proved to be the case. Said Johansson: “It’s very simple. It’s about the emptiness of the Swedish summer . I think it’s quite romantic in a way. I wanted to have romance in a show but without the regular runway thing.” We walked down the hall between them, adjusting conversational volume in sync with the DJ, as Johansson delivered an exegesis of the huge A-line ponchos that were the defining garment of the collection. “They are inspired by tents, old-fashioned tents,” he said. The silver eyelets pressed in at the top of the spine were peg-ready, and the variously laminated, plasticized and bonded fabrics sometimes had the realistic look and feel of well-used tarp. Others were shiny and came in shirting stripes. They flared out widely from the body, tentlike, of course, with particular volume at the back. Completing the campsite capsule was a selection of shoes that ran from coated Chelsea boots to surf booties to rubberized Mary Janes. Zip-away techno jersey pants and shorts in plain color provided cover. Vests and tops in tablecloth checks and stringy bouclé, plus woven hemp shirts and tees (with matching shorts) in a neutral wheaty tone delivered texture. One especially striking knitted vest came with hand-painted flecks of green and orange fluoro, which competed winningly with the oaty texture of the yarn. Nostalgic, avant-garde, and Swedish, this was Acne all over. WWD “It never rains in California,” went the Seventies ditty. Unfortunately, cold rain does fall in Sweden, often in summertime, which is why Jonny Johansson made waterproof jackets the centerpiece of his spring collection for Acne Studios. Big and tentlike, the coats had an A-line shape accentuated by sturdy fabrics and side zips from the armpit on down. Big collars heightened their ungainliness. Johansson, who has a cottage previously owned by Ingmar Bergman on Torö, an island in the Stockholm archipelago, also used glazed patterns ripped from outdoor tablecloths for boxy blousons. Standout items included jersey pants with white side zips, loosely knit sweaters with rag- rug airs and loose cotton shorts. This was a crisp and charming offering and Johansson acknowledged the collection’s nostalgic heart. Business of Fashion Never underestimate the clarity and power of a single idea in our age of chaotic fashions. That's what Jonny Johanson did at Acne Studios. His focus this season? Swedish summer — read rainy and damp — and tents. The brief translated into a compact offer of a-line raincoats, A-line-to-the-knee anoraks and stripy blousons in coated, treated, laminated fabrications, invariably worn with shorts. The result was convincing, not least because it was devoid of the fuss and the bizarre diversions that has given Acne menswear such an odd vibe in the past. Personal Review Jonny Johansson was inspired by the rainy Swedish summers when creating the Spring 2017 Menswear Acne Studios collection. The waterproof jackets are very large, boxy, and tent-like. Since the coats look like large capes, the look book reminded me of a very fashionable barber shop. To me, the models look like they are sitting around, waiting to get their haircut. ALEXANDER MCQUEEN Vogue.com With creative director Sarah Burton still away on maternity leave after the birth of her third child, the Alexander McQueen label stepped back from the runway to present its latest menswear collection via a series of intimate appointments and a sequence of atmospheric images photographed by Julia Hetta. “You wouldn’t get them from a show,” said Harley Hughes, McQueen’s head of menswear design, of Hetta’s painterly images. You also wouldn’t get that level of interaction, with the designers nor with the clothes themselves. It made a pertinent argument for alternatives to catwalk showcases—one that felt timely, given the current fusing of men’s and women’s runway presentations from many of the brand’s contemporaries (FYI—McQueen reps say the label will be back showing for Fall 2017). And McQueen’s menswear bears closer scrutiny, as inspection often surrenders hidden details that the runway can swamp. In this collection, those details included the intentional curling edge of the gold embroideries embellishing sweaters and jackets, inspired by the notion of archive clothes crumpled and distressed with age, a revival of old wardrobe favorites. There was a sense of familiarity about this collection—for one thing, it continued in the same vein as McQueen’s Fall menswear offering, swinging from street to ceremony and offering sharp tailoring for day and plenty of exuberantly decorated eveningwear, teamed with white sneakers for a contemporary feel. Apparently, alongside the decorated pieces, McQueen’s kicks are the first thing to sell out when they hit stores. But it also referenced a rich seam of classic English tailoring, of braid-bedecked military suiting and frogged officer’s mess dress that is so important to the 21st- century survival of Savile Row, where a young Lee McQueen first learned his trade. Hughes elaborated on a story line: “A ’60s guy, in London, going off traveling and immersing himself in imperial India,” he said. So the suits were sharply cut, in crunchy paisley brocade with a hint of Mr.

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