Paris Fashion Week: Valentino shows uncluttered menswear; Dior elevates tailoring; LV’s Pharrell Williams goes Western

PARIS — Valentino creative director Pierpaolo Piccioli took to the sprawling historic headquarters of the Paris mint, the Monnaie de Paris, for his men’s fall/winter show, sending a lineup of modern, uncluttered styles down the catwalk.

Models strode past the tightly packed audience under dimly lit chandeliers, winding through the gilded rooms in long, black overcoats, oversize suit jackets and loose-legged trousers. (See the show here: <tinyurl.com/3en7842t>)

A touch of extravagance came from a sparkly blue shirt, elaborate cutout patterns on tailored jackets and long thick fringes that embellished a coat. A denim ensemble with a hooded, zip-up jacket looked contemporary.

The designer loosened traditional tailoring but slimmed down the ties, which took the form of a thin strip, worn with crisp, white collared shirts.

Accessories included large, leather handbags and round-toed loafers with thick soles.

DIOR’S KIM JONES ELEVATES TAILORINGDior men’s artistic director Kim Jones ratcheted up the elegance for his winter collection, redistributing decorative elements on precisely tailored garments. (See the show here: <tinyurl.com/2z8hm7sx>)

Models strode around a circular runway in ballet flats parading collarless tops, shimmery capes, and a denim trouser and jacket set that was cinched at the waist and lined with rhinestones.

Inspiration for the collection came from the friendship between his uncle, Colin Jones, a ballet dancer and photographer, and the star dancer Rudolf Nureyev, which could be seen in the loose, feminine styles that evoked the world of dance.

For the finale, models stood in a circle, facing the audience, and the floor began moving, turning the models, and moving them upward, to form a giant cake-like shape.

AMI UPDATES BOURGEOIS STYLESAmi designer Alexandre Mattiussi added a contemporary flair to classic bourgeois styles for his fall/winter collection, presented on the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week late on Thursday. (You can watch the show here: <tinyurl.com/4taxbnb5>)

Men and women models marched out of giant double doors — the set was a towering building facade — parading long tailored coats, fitted suit jackets, and glittering tops.

The idea was to evoke life in a Paris apartment building, Mr. Mattiussi explained after the show, when he was swarmed by guests.

“There was the idea of doing something very sophisticated, very evening-like,” he said.

Dressier looks included a trim, fake-fur top with three-quarter-length sleeves, a shimmering gold dress with plunging V-neck, and for men, a sheer grey tank top paired with high-waisted trousers.

Models included actors Diane Kruger, Laetitia Casta, Lou Doillon, Andres Velencoso, and Audrey Marnay — prompting murmurings of surprise from the audience as they walked by.

A winner of the French fashion prize Andam, Mr. Mattiussi founded the fast-growing label Ami in Paris in 2011. Within four years, the brand opened a store in Tokyo, followed by Beijing in 2018 and New York in 2021.

SEAN SUEN THROWS FOCUS ON SILHOUETTESChinese designer Sean Suen emphasized silhouettes for his fall winter menswear show on Thursday, piling layers of finely tailored coats in autumn hues on runway models. (See the show here: <tinyurl.com/4d9dj549> )

Remembering China in the early 1990s, when the country was discovering fashion from the West, he recalled how people embraced newness and enjoyed mixing and matching new styles.

The collection included suit coats with extra buttons allowing them to be rearranged with new folds and asymmetry.

“I think the suit is very important — but I always wanted to give it an Eastern element to break the balance,” he told Reuters.

Mr. Suen also played with textures, softening the lineup with fake fur muffs and capes that contrasted with the sharp, prominent collars of dress shirts, suit jackets and dressy coats.

The designer has been showing styles from his namesake, Beijing-based label, which he established in 2012, in Paris for several years.

LGN LOUIS GABRIEL NOUCHI ADDS WOMEN’S STYLESFrench label LGN Louis Gabriel Nouchi introduced women’s styles to its fall winter 2024 menswear runway presentation on Wednesday, working them into a lineup of tailored eveningwear — with model Coco Rocha closing the show.

Models strode through a cavernous building site in floor-sweeping trench coats, sharp-shouldered jackets with cinched waists and pleated trousers. (View the show here: <tinyurl.com/4wxv4hzx> )

“It’s like a new horizon,” said Louis-Gabriel Nouchi, detailing his namesake label’s exploration of masculinity.

“I’m really more used to how we show skin on menswear, but if you do it on a girl, it’s a completely different meaning,” said the designer, who included highly cut bodysuits and slim tank tops in his collection.

Ms. Rocha closed the show, wearing a slick, black trench coat, belted tightly around her ribs. A collaboration with France’s coin producer, the Monnaie de Paris, resulted in gold coins stamped with the label’s logo, which were tucked into penny loafers and used to make bracelets, which jingled down the runway.

Mr. Nouchi, 35, is known for his styles that toy with seams, leaving open patches on one side of a neckline on a T-shirt or turtleneck, or a side hole on men’s underwear.

A winner of the French fashion prize Andam, he established his label in 2017 and has designed collections for department store Galeries Lafayette and the Paris Saint-Germain Football Club.

PHARRELL WILLIAMS’ STYLES FROM AMERICAN WESTPharrell Williams kicked off Paris Fashion Week with Louis Vuitton’s spring menswear show on Tuesday night, lining the catwalk with sharp, elaborately embellished American West outfits. (See the show here: <tinyurl.com/36ncatd7>)

Native American drumming signaled the start of the show, with models strutting in silver tipped cowboy boots and denim chaps, wide-brimmed cowboy hats, and silky western shirts with pointy collars. Turquoise studs decorated suits and Louis Vuitton logos glittered on sequined jackets.

“The Louis Vuitton dandy evolves through the American western tradition of dressing up,” the show notes said, listing details of handbags designed with artists of the Dakota and Lakota nations, and shoes made with the Timberland label.

The show was the designer’s third since he took on creative direction for the label’s menswear line last year. The LVMH-owned label, the world’s biggest fashion brand, has opened about 50 temporary stores worldwide to showcase the new merchandise.

Mr. Williams’ blockbuster debut took place on the Pont Neuf in Paris last June, in a street party with performances by Williams and Jay-Z. He took to Hong Kong in November for his second runway show, with sailor suits and Hawaiian prints, along a waterfront promenade overlooking the city’s skyline after dark.

LVMH will release annual financial results on Jan. 25, revealing details of the industry bellwether’s performance over the key holiday season. Demand for luxury apparel has softened in recent months as shoppers reined back on high-end purchases with the rising cost of living.

HERMES EMPHASIZES VERSATILITYVeronique Nichanian, the artistic director for menswear at Hermes, presented a textured lineup of polished looks for the label’s winter runway show on Saturday, showing the versatile side of the high-end fashion label. (Watch the show here: <tinyurl.com/ypza6c2c>)

Models filed past brightly lit columns in thick sheepskin coats, checked suits, trim leather jackets, and a silky bomber jacket in pea green.

A glossy leather coat appeared to be reversible, lined with a soft, light-colored fabric on the inside, while the pattern of a checked suit were discernable through a sheer, light-weight parka. Nichanian tweaked the pattern of a chunky Argyle sweater vest in a lavender hue, and readjusted shirt pockets, skewing them slightly to the side.

The collection was “reversible, superimposable, transformable,” said the show notes. “Precise decentrings” and “engineered slippages” were also mentioned.

Dressier pieces included a trimly cut suit made of polished calfskin that shimmered in the light. — Reuters