Paris Fashion Week S/S 2016 menswear editor's picks

large breast pockets on shirts, epaulets on jackets,

Umit Benan: Havana and Fidel Castro's revolutionaries were on Umit Benan's mind this season. Military details ran throughout the collection appearing as large breast pockets on shirts, epaulets on jackets, whilst wide leg trousers where clinched at the waist with thick leather belts

(Image credit: press)

By Jack Moss

last updated 20 October 2022

in Inspiration

**Thom Browne:** A Japanese teahouse set the scene for the designer's kimono inspired collection that transported us to Mount Fuji and beyond

**Y-3:** The Y-3 show began with a performance by the TAO Dance Theatre. Voluminous lightweight parkas where worn over T-shirts bearing the slogan 'I don't bother you', while the back of deconstructed jackets read 'Don't bother me

**Officine Générale:** Pierre Mahéo of Officine Générale name checked Marcello Mastroianni and his elegant nonchalance as an inspiration for spring. Trousers were pleated and tapered at the ankle to give volume, while long and large trench coats came belt-less for ease

**Sandro:** Chet Baker and his track 'Let's Get Lost' was the starting point for Sandro's S/S 2016 collection. Highlights included a generous coat with drop shoulders worn with white jeans cropped at the ankle, as three button suit jackets where teamed with pleated high-waisted trousers

**Junya Watanabe Man:** This season Junya Watanabe collaborated with Vlisco, the Dutch company that has been a supplier of fabric to West and Central Africa since the mid-19th century. Textiles were patched together on reversible jackets, shirts and board shorts, all topped off with heavily beaded necklaces and bangles

**Rick Owens:** The M-65 field jacket and work of artist Steven Parrino inspired a collection of hard edges and soft silhouettes at Rick Owens. Tabards appeared crumpled with stiffened areas, whilst draped jersey tunics appeared in pale green and orange

**Ann Demeulemeester:** The label's designer, Sébastien Meunier, explored transparency in a collection of light sheer layers in classic Demeulemeester black, burnt orange and dark emerald. The collection also showcased the labels first sunglasses range in collaboration with Linda Farrow

**Ami:** Alexandre Mattiussi presented a collection inspired by Paris life and the real guy on the street. Wide leg track pants were teamed with tailored overcoats, faded denim was worn uniformly head-to-toe and zip-up blousons were seen tucked into straight leg trousers.

**Acne Studios:** The gender bending American rock band New York Dolls and surfboard artist Robin Kegel were the inspirations behind Acne Studios' spring/summer 2016 collection. Abstract graphics prints were seen on loose jumpsuits, whilst voluminous shirts were tucked into short shorts, all worn with platform boots

Fragments of the nightclubs logo was spliced into garments.

Sacai: Taking inspiration from the legendary New York nightclub Paradise Garage, Sacai's hybrid approach to construction appeared in military motifs mashed up with tuxedo shirt ruffles, while fragments of the nightclubs logo was spliced into garments.

(Image credit: Jason Lloyd-Evans)

**Alexander Wang:** Taking evening wear to the street, Wang gave his MA-1 tuxedo flight bomber jacket a high gloss duchess satin finish. Sportswear met tailoring with the combination of broad shorts and track jackets in Italian summer wool suiting

**Yohji Yamamoto:** The Japanese designer tackled a leaner silhouette this season. Models appeared with stripes marked on their faces, a motif that also ran through into the clothes and signalled the danger line of Yamamoto. Yellow and black caution stripes appeared on shorts, whilst others were inserted into jackets and trousers.

Tailoring resembling rice paper, while masks were somewhat less innocent — **Julien David:** The Parisian designer, who lives between London and Tokyo decided to iron his crinkles for spring; his utility tailoring resembling rice paper, while masks were somewhat less innocent.

**3.1 Phillip Lim:** The New Yorker offered a more relaxed spin on the city slicker’s pinstriped banker’s suiting for spring.

Camouflage printed trench and the utility patch pockets on his shirts and trousers — **Kolor:** After seasons of shying away from the well-trodden inspirations of military and sports in fashion, Junichi Abe made an about turn and decided to tackle them head on. In a palette consisting almost entirely of sober hues, the codes could be seen in a lightweight, camouflage printed trench and the utility patch pockets on his shirts and trousers.

**Pierre Hardy:** Showing within a suite at the recently opened Les Bains hotel, Pierre Hardy's S/S collection moved seamlessly between the formal and casual. A new take on camouflage blended both geometric and organic motifs covering totes, sheer scarves and espadrilles, which tied at the ankle

**Haider Ackermann:** In the light of the evening sunshine, Haider Ackermann presented his unique eclectic vision of menswear. A printed kimono shirt cinched in at the waist with a heavily strapped cummerbund teamed with super skinny pinstripe jeans and gold Lurex Chelsea boots epitomised the look.

**Lemaire:** Christophe Lemaire continued to advance his minimalist utilitarian aesthetic in a collection that seamlessly fused sportswear and workwear for spring. Highlights included bomber jacket-like shirts with zip-up fronts that could be worn in or out, high-rise loosely cut trousers and breezy jackets.

**Carven:** The French house made a fresh start this season with designer Barnabé Hardy at the helm. Shirts came printed with ginkgo leaves, and lightly quilted jackets with a swirling embroidered motifs, while butter soft leather bombers debuted a new zipper hardware - a C within a circle

**Y/Project:** Deep in the depths of a Paris nightclub, fledgling label Y/Project made an impact with a collection that distorted familiar sartorial items through a play on proportion and materials. City gent pinstripes appeared not in their uniform state, but here as an elongated vest and oversized trousers. Similarly, wide legged track pants came in leather and a trench coat in distressed denim

Jack Moss is the Fashion Features Editor at Wallpaper*, joining the team in 2022. Having previously been the digital features editor at AnOther and digital editor at 10 and 10 Men magazines, he has also contributed to titles including i-D, Dazed, 10 Magazine, Mr Porter’s The Journal and more, while also featuring in Dazed: 32 Years Confused: The Covers, published by Rizzoli. He is particularly interested in the moments when fashion intersects with other creative disciplines – notably art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and reporting from international fashion weeks. Across his career, he has interviewed the fashion industry’s leading figures, including Rick Owens, Pieter Mulier, Jonathan Anderson, Grace Wales Bonner, Christian Lacroix, Kate Moss and Manolo Blahnik.

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