Catwalk tour: the top men's fashion week venues from S/S 2015
Ermenegildo Zegna Couture: Hollow, geometric blocks created a thought-provoking backdrop for Stefano Pilati's heavily industrial show interior, conceived to reflect the designer's take on architecture and space. American lighting designer AJ Weissbard then cemented the scene's raw feel by adding a misty, sullen lighting set-up that further enhanced the season's graphic, linear silhouettes and muted colour combinations
Moncler Gamme Bleu: Designer Thom Browne staged the next instalment of his legendary sporting events for Moncler Gamme Bleu within Milan's Palazzo del Senato. For S/S, it took the form of a boxing match. Dressed in patriotic brand colours, the sparring ring delivered a knockout fashion fight if ever there was one
Dior Homme: All eyes were initially on the floor at Dior Homme's Tennis Club de Paris presentation, where colour-blocked horizontal and vertical lines met at the runway's central cross-junction. Bold primary strips interjected the floor's sandy wooden boards, reflecting the bold stripes and hyper-hued scribbles that were drawn across Kris Van Assche's S/S collection
Brioni: For S/S 2015 we watched Brendan Mullane's Los Angeles inspiration come to life in grand cinematic form. The surrounding walls of his presentation space screened films by American artist Collier Schorr, depicting scenes from the Brioni man's LA life. As a direct reflection of this image, the show's models stood on black podium structures, replicating open-plan Californian homes, looking out across the twinkling city skyline
Cerruti 1881: Lighting aficionado Thierry Dreyfus once again set the scene for Aldo Maria Camillo's menswear show. Flashing stadium-style spotlights highlighted the venue's patch-worked wooden flooring, creating a warm glow over the simple setting
Dsquared2: The Caten twins took us to the inception of their creative process for S/S 2015, setting their show within a working artist's studio. The space's theatrically hazy skylights, aged walls and half completed paintings offered the perfect canvas for their Pop art inspired collection
Dunhill: The sophisticated surrounds of John Ray's salon style S/S 2015 presentation at One Horse Guards in London allowed the Dunhill man to feel right at home. French doors flooded the space with natural sunlight, which bounced off the venue's white surrounds - from ecru ottomans to bleached wooden floorboards
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Salvatore Ferragamo: A simple, rectangular blonde wood catwalk framed Ferragamo's spot-lit show space in Milan. Similar basic benches were installed for the audience, while the setting was backed by an installation of hanging wooden beams, saturated in glowing blue light
Paul Smith: This season Sir Paul returned to Paris' Bourse de Commerce to present his bohemia tinged S/S 2015 offering. Under the building's classic domed ceiling, Smith's boys were surrounded by a terracotta-potted garden of succulents and cacti that also showed up in his prints
Gucci: Frida Giannini extended a little feminine subtlety to her creamy S/S 2015 setting in the house's traditional Milanese location, directing the focus towards the show's watery digital backdrop. The predominately beige seating was also perfectly matched with the polished ecru flooring
Maison Martin Margiela: The stark grey wood and metal features of Paris' Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University provided an aptly institutional backdrop for the house's schoolboy-inspired collection
Philipp Plein: This German designer's summer pool party at via Carlo Botta was a far cry from the backyard gathering that its name usually implies. Sharks were cast as mega mascots with Plein's PP monogram proudly inscribed between the toothy critters, before all matter of water sports began. Cue synchronised swimmers and suited jet skiers thrashing through this adult water park
Kris Van Assche: The Belgium designer explored the idea of a never-ending runway for this season's set up at the Halle Freyssinet. Referencing the show's title 'Illusion', the basic surroundings of the warehouse space were heightened by an artwork at the end of the runway, featuring continuous opening doors that the models started and ended their walk through
Raf Simons: Lighting took centre stage a Raf Simons' S/S Espace Vendome show space, which was otherwise left raw and unembellished - an aesthetic that was accentuated by the omission of seating. Spotlights cast a moody red and green glow over the scene, including the standing audience, as the models weaved their way through them
Prada: The outdoors were brought inside at this season's AMO-designed Prada show space, with Mrs Prada's boys circling a striking cobalt blue pool. Surrounded by a contrasting suede brown seating gradient, the collection was poetically reflected in the azure-hued water
Versace: Donatella Versace strung up everything but the kitchen sink on the arches of her S/S 2015 men's runway in the house's Via Gesù HQ. The church-like set offered up the full weight of the brand's homewares collection. Versace bed sheets draped the walls, which were then covered in all manner of Medusa-logoed chairs, cushions, plates and lamps - no doubt an offering to the Gods of living large
Kenzo: Paris' ornate Pont Alexandre III offered a fitting backdrop to Kenzo's S/S 2015 show, which embraced the city's key icons both as a show venue and later seen through the collection's Tour Eiffel patchworks
Kenzo: With the help of Villa Eugenie, Humberto Leon and Carol Lim walked their colourful collection over the historically elaborate landmark, while the audience sat out of the rain on blocky, pale green benches
Wooyoungmi: The South Korean brand's newly appointed co-creative director Katie Chung presented an eerie, sci-fi inspired centrepiece for S/S 2015. In the show's closing sequence, draped transparencies separated the audience from the clothes, which were mystically lit by Eyesight Productions, offering a moody finale to the presentation
Y-3: A world away from last season's cleanly graphic setting, we hit the waves at Yohji Yamamoto's summer surf shack. The Couvent des Cordeliers venue's 'wooden lodge' was plastered with paint and posters decrying 'surf now, apocalypse later'
Saint Laurent: Hedi Slimane likes a light show and this season's cube-shaped, concert-style light installation doubled as a fiery runway backdrop. Gleaming and flashing in alternate increments, the set illuminated the tiled, cubic catwalk within the Marais' Carreau du Temple
Sujata Burman is a writer and editor based in London, specialising in design and culture. She was Digital Design Editor at Wallpaper* before moving to her current role of Head of Content at London Design Festival and London Design Biennale where she is expanding the content offering of the showcases. Over the past decade, Sujata has written for global design and culture publications, and has been a speaker, moderator and judge for institutions and brands including RIBA, D&AD, Design Museum and Design Miami/. In 2019, she co-authored her first book, An Opinionated Guide to London Architecture, published by Hoxton Mini Press, which was driven by her aim to make the fields of design and architecture accessible to wider audiences.
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