Paris Fashion Week menswear kicks off with Milan’s Off-White

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The fashion circus of magazine editors, bloggers, photographers and buyers cried “Bonjour Paris” Wednesday as the first full day of menswear fashion shows kicked off in the French capital.

Edgy brand Off-White drew renewed attention at its show, thanks to the meteoric rise of its African-American designer Virgil Abloh – now chief of Louis Vuitton menswear.

Meanwhile, Valentino brought in the celebrities.

Models wear creations as part of Valentino Men’s Spring-Summer 2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, June 20, 2018. /AP Photo

Some highlights of the spring and summer menswear shows:

Proud family at Off-White

The parents of American-Ghanaian designer Virgil Abloh were the image of pride as they sat front row at Off-White – the Milan-based house their son founded in 2013 – in the sweltering Palace of Chaillol that overlooks the Eiffel Tower.

They had jetted to Paris for the first time from Rockford, Illinois to support their son, who on Thursday debuted his wares at the Louis Vuitton show. He’s the first African-American to head up a major European design house.

“It’s unbelievable. We’re so proud of him. Very incredible,” said his mother Eunice Abloh, who sat next to her husband Nee.

“We flew in. We’re being treated very well. It’s my first time in Paris – and it’s beautiful,” she added.

US fashion designer Virgil Abloh thumbs up after the presentation of Off-White Men’s Spring-Summer 2019 collection presented in Paris, June 20, 2018. /AP Photo

Off-White’s blue denim

Denim, denim and then more denim.

That was the formula employed at the Milan-based house for spring-summer to produce a hip, urban, loose and highly masculine aesthetic.

Steel-blue denim opened the show. A denim shirt with frayed sleeve edges sported utilitarian metal zippers and was accessorized with a jangling key chain, while the hem down denim pants curved round, instead of vertically down, in a deceptively simple hip-hop style.

Oversize white T-shirts with logos, retro sneakers and an oversize color-blocked, tie-dye style coat added an on-trend whiff of the ’80s in the collection that never forgot to have fun.

White confetti fell from snow machines at one point to a slurred remix of Bing Crosby’s “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas,” prompting chuckles from front row attendees who saw irony at the snowfall during a spring-summer collection, in the sweltering Paris heat, in which many of the models were topless.

The collection stood out for using models from different ethnic backgrounds – sadly, a rarity for many Paris shows.

A model wears a creation for Off-White Men’s Spring-Summer 2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, June 20, 2018. /AP Photo

The rise of Vltn at Valentino

NBA star James Harden joined rappers A$AP Ferg and Nas in giving Valentino’s front row a serious dose of street cred.

Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli long has said he wants to make Valentino appealing to young men – and the collection presented Wednesday was the best attempt to date despite the venue – the ornate Museum of Decorative Arts, located inside the former Louvre Palace.

Designer Pierpaolo Piccioli walks the runway at the end of the Valentino Men’s Spring-Summer 2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, June 20, 2018. /AP Photo

Feathered Brit-pop hats, sneakers, billowing oversize trench coats and baggy patterned tracksuit bottoms gave the spring-summer aesthetic a relaxed feeling. It was a style the fashion house summed up as “street encounters couture.”

The 62-look collection, which had gentle fuchsias, mint greens, pinks, whites and blacks in the palette, took the Italian designer’s previous dalliance with logos to the next level.

“VLTN” was the real star of the show. In the collection, it featured on the vast majority of looks – running down pants, on hats, across raincoats and even on socks.

A model wears a creation as part of Valentino Men’s Spring-Summer 2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, June 20, 2018. /AP Photo

The lettering also was emblazoned on the clothes of Valentino staff members and clutches worn by guests.

It’s perhaps a commercial gamble to put all the fashion eggs in the logo basket.

Facetasm’s bridal workman

Designer Hiromichi Ochiai didn’t disappoint those expecting the wackily-creative from Japanese house Facetasm.

The fashion-forward designer’s touchstone of workman’s clothes was given an unusual bridal twist in Wednesday’s collection that mixed men's and women’s styles, as well as punk, preppy and eclectic aesthetics.

A model wears a creation as part of Facetasm Men’s Spring-Summer 2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, June 20, 2018. /AP Photo

One of the first looks showcased on a female model was a hybrid between a workman’s overall – with big utilitarian pocket – and a white tulle bridal gown.

The model’s hair channeled Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” styles, worn with voluminous ’80s earrings, and evoked a punk going down the church aisle.

Elsewhere, a blue navy shirt had the oversize silhouette of a worker’s top, yet was gently perforated like lace.

A model wears a creation as part of Facetasm Men’s Spring-Summer 2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, June 20, 2018. /AP Photo

It was a clever touch that demonstrates why Ochiai commands a strong following. The Tokyo-founded company has won plaudits for its conceptual styles with hints of punk.

(Cover photo: A model wears a creation as part of Valentino Men’s Spring-Summer 2019 fashion collection presented in Paris, June 20, 2018. /AP Photo)

Source(s): AP