To the letter: greatest S/S 2020 men's fashion week invitations

Material momentos in elevated envelopes, that made it from the airwaves to the archive. Photography: Aylin Bayhan

Rick Owens and Dior men's S/S2020 fashion week invitations
Artistic license Rick Owens and Dior used its show invitations as a device to convey its S/S 2020 artistic collaborations. British artist Thomas Houseago allowed Owens to used an image of one of his wall sculptures as the brand’s invite art, and Owens’ collection was debuted around the artist’s ongoing retrospective at the Palais de Tokyo. Elsewhere in Paris, Dior’s Kim Jones worked with Daniel Arsham on ‘Dior’ lettered sculptures in his idiosyncratic calcified cement which populated its bubblegum pink S/S 2020 catwalk and show invitation.
(Image credit: Aylin Bayhan)
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Jill Sander fashion week invitation S/S

Need for seed

Jil Sander had a horticultural take on show invitation design. Bestowing a white cotton pouch on guests, stamped with the green-fingered phrase ‘The world needs more flowers,’ show-goers found a flurry of chocolate truffle-like seed bombs inside, for them to take home, plant, water and nurture into flowers. 

(Image credit: Aylin Bayhan)

Dolce & Gabbana’s wildcat-worthy show invitation

Lap of luxury

Labels amped up the luxury with lashings of leopard print and gold. Just look to Dolce & Gabbana’s wildcat-worthy show invitation, and Saint Laurent’s patent leather envelope, a glossy rock n’ roll fit for its LA location. Elsewhere, 1017 ALYX 9SM got the Midas touch for spring, with a multi-layered show invitation, complete with a glossy golden foil.

(Image credit: Aylin Bayhan)

OAMC and Lanvin fashion week invitation

Seeing clearly

Brands bought a translucent twist to their show invitation envelopes. OAMC and Lanvin opted for gauzy tracing paper-thin envelopes, OAMC opting to conceal a handy carabiner inside, and Lanvin slipping inside a summery illustration in bold blue, rose and yellow brushstrokes of men clad shorts and hats. Elsewhere, Off-White opted for its usual clear acetate envelope, printed with a barbed wire pattern.

(Image credit: Aylin Bayhan)

Summer road-trip themed fashion week invitations from Paul Smith, Versace and Wooyungmi

Road trippin’

A host of labels provided a handy stock of essentials for a summer road trip, preferably in a sunset-chasing soft top. See Wooyungmi’s invitation-come-retro mixtape, Paul’s Smith’s car bumper-ready cartoon bunny sticker, a fuchsia foil Vetements condom and a Versace-branded metal license plate, bordered with pop-colour baroque prints.

(Image credit: Aylin Bayhan)

Louis Vuitton’s Virgil Abloh S/S 2020 men's fashion week invitation

Great heights

Louis Vuitton’s Virgil Abloh looked to the sky for S/S 2020, designing a show invitation that came complete with a ready-to-assemble kite. Its parts included a spine, cross bar and bridle cord and a verdant, bottle green triangular nylon sail emblazoned with the LV monograph. Up up and away!

(Image credit: Aylin Bayhan)

Christian Marclay and Oscar Tuazon create fashion week invitations

Book worm

Since his appointment at Celine, Hedi Slimane has celebrated the power of print with an invitation presented as a hotly-coveted hardback book. Art is essential to Slimane’s aesthetic, and since arriving at the Parisian house he’s collaborated with Christian Marclay and Oscar Tuazon on collection prints and site-specific retail pieces. For S/S 2020, a chalk grey canvas-covered volume concealed a series of colourful tear out posters, featuring artwork by David Kramer.

(Image credit: Aylin Bayhan)

Men’s fashion week invitations

Block party

Berluti also opted for a pouch-clad invitation. Inside its sleek fabric bag, guests were greeted with a parcel printed with a glossy paint-dripped flower, concealing a white wooden block carved with the Berluti logo.

(Image credit: Aylin Bayhan)

Men’s fashion week invitations

Material world

For creative directors’ Humberto Leon and Carol Lim final runway show for Kenzo after an ebullient eight-year tenure, the duo designed a soft scarf-resembling invitation in a vanilla-hued fabric, printed with ‘Kenzo’ in bold brushstroke lettering. A material memento for guests to take home and treasure.

(Image credit: Aylin Bayhan)
Laura Hawkins
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