Another blazing day of sweat and lung torture in Paris opened with the spring 2009 collection for Blaak homme. The signature pilgrim-like hats were back, but this time in leopard print, characteristic of a more colourful collection that married tan biker trousers with deconstructed plaid and denim jackets and odd, square-toed sandals. Lacy sheers and baggy top halves were also prominent here, with half-buttoned double breasted jackets giving a great sense of volume to the ragged Blaak silhouette.

Immediately after, at Thierry Mugler, the quintessentially 80s brand presented us with its recent rejuvenation of its menswear line, quietly buttering us up with complimentary posh-squash and glowing bottles of green cologne. For anyone who has followed the last few seasons from Mugler, which erred on the tacky with brash gold and reds pieces that inevitably were only sold in some seriously awful Old Compton Street boutiques, this was a refreshing change. The brand is so entrenched in its own distinctive style that this new collection perhaps won't change the minds of any Mugler-haters, but the spring 2009 show did present a notably more mature, current version of the mugler man, with some surprisingly elegant beige knitwear setting off the more predictable brightly coloured, wide shouldered jackets. The nightwear was particularly good, with flowing striped pyjama bottoms nicely setting off the hard-edged power suits, and a vibrant blue dressing gown completing the decadent picture.

Man of the moment and head Dior Homme designer Kris van Assche showed a fantastic collection for his own line, which beautifully married deconstructive tailoring with light, sporty garments and a hell of a lot of drawstring fastenings. It was loose yet stylish, masculine yet with a soft, romantic feel that was emphasized by the roses used to decorate lapels. Grey suiting, mesh and shiny nylon were all important fabrics here, as well as a set of youthful accessories perfect for beach-crawling, such as neck purses, bum bags and lustrous print holdalls. Even the socks were crammed with interesting details, with beaded edges (peaking over chunky velcro hi-tops) echoing the candy-coloured jewellery from previous seasons.

Kiminori Morishita's collection took its inspiration from the famous pilot Antoine de St Exupery. This of course made for a series of beige (a popular colour for spring 2009) ensembles, with cropped trousers laced at the knee and tan waistcoats resembling lifejackets and parachute packs. As in the YSL presentation, the collection played upon the reconstruction of military and utility garments (the patterns taken from early 1900) in soft and light fabrics, contrasting thin white shirts with chunky leather gloves and boots. There was a great attention to detail in the textiles, especially in the unbelievably intricate woven garments, hand made in 7 types of yarn to give a poetic, vintage feel to the looks. And my favourite accessory of this season: a pair of blocky black sunglasses, with a belt like leather strap that fastened them securely to the back of the head.

Other highlights: Givenchy's edgy, rocky new menswear look; a typically off-the-wall extravaganza from Galliano.

Special mention: Romain Kremer - I can't decide whether this is awful or genius, but the dizzying combinations of neon and flesh in a collection of body hugging foam and lycra rave-armour was like nothing else this season, and I'm sure will spice up the lives of many editorial stylists, who go mad for this kind of thing.

Written by:
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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