Paris Men's Fashion Part 1

It hadn't occurred to me that Paris in June would be hot. Really hot. In the audiences, beads of perspiration ran down latex Balenciaga jerkins and black Prada bibs. Fans and invitations fluttered in every front row to fend off potentially make-up ruining heat levels. There was a pervasive smell of opulent, delicate fabrics slowly being conquered by indefatigable body odour, and a bitter taste in the air from the furious chain smoking generally adopted in the frantic seconds before and after each show.

My first sweaty Camel Bleu was lit, rather tackily, in front of the Eiffel tower, as I waited to enter the Musée de l'Homme to see what Stefano Pilati had pulled out of the hat for Yves Saint Laurent this year. Unsurprisingly, this presentation turned out to be wonderful, with the new menswear for spring 2009 displayed via a series of high-quality films investigating the collection's central theme of androgyny. The galleryesque notes were slightly opaque (and I'm thinking the '[declaration] of personhood through semiotic invention' trend might not quite make it to the high street any time soon) but the tableaux themselves nicely showcased a collection in soft, light, malleable materials. Must haves from this collection were the silk trench coats and blousons, the tapered, relaxed waist trousers in super fine wool, and for the more exhibitionist androgyny, a glittering gold sequined cardigan that was the centrepiece of the final film.

Next up (and several cigarettes later) was Kilgour - an amazingly minimal, beautifully sharp collection of glaringly perfect tailoring in white, navy and black. The pieces were slimly cut, simply but meticulously detailed in contrasting stripes, and had a fantastic lightness to them, especially apparent when lapel-less jackets were layered over low cut, fold-over one-button waistcoats. It was all very much about Kilgour hurling themselves into the future, with an electronic soundtrack by Massive Attack's 3D and a space oddyssey-ish backdrop of mirrored dots on a curved white runway.

Gaspard Yurkievich's show opened with a surprise as an acapella choir, shooshing rhythmically, emerged from the audience. The collection this time round was full of brilliantly novel ideas - such as the tunics with puffed, ruffled bottoms - alongside his usual geometric takes on classic smart and casual-wear. Like many of the designers this season, Yurkievich chose to use light pastel and fleshy colours and combined these with single, bold black stripes as details on the closures of (collarless) jackets, shirt fronts, waistbands and pocket welts creating a look that was bold and forward-looking as well as soft and casual.

From the young and restless to established luxury: Louis Vuitton fielded a collection of fairly innocuous, though not unpleasant clothes, which was really saved by the fantastic shoes, covered in moulded contrasting rubber details and shown in white, black, navy grey and brown. The rest of the pieces were of course made with the utmost care and luxurious pastel materials, but didn't quite manage to hold the eye for any length of time, especially in comparison with the outlandish stylings of the Kanye West entourage, who were being papped to shreds in the front row. Mr. Jacobs seemed pretty happy though.

Other highlights: Veronique Branquinho's moody beachwear; Dries van Noten's white car buffet; Number (N)ine's mad tribute to Brian Jones; Yamamoto's lace shirts; Henrik Vibskov's robotic 'Tent City' and performance on a large striped drum.

Adam Welch

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Badam

Adam is a one-man industry awaiting investors. In the meantime he writes for London Kicks and Vogue.co.uk and lives on thin air and noodle packets.

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