Spring Menswear 2017

It's better (really) late than never, they say....

We've been swept by Couture week,

and just recently by Spring Ready-To-Wear2017.

But first, menswear.

Vetements

Raf Simons

Balenciaga

MAN (Per Gotesson, Fen Cheng Wan, Charles Jeffrey)

Gucci

Dries Van Noten

Vivienne Westwood

Craig Green

Damir Doma

Spring Menswear 2017 ended months ago, due to the bombardment of weekly deadlines it was almost inevitable that I forego the necessity to curate the ones that I've loved this season of menswear. I was on the verge of letting Spring pass for so many troubled circumstances; with hours of back and forth layout editing while also trying to convince myself of the works left for school, it was close to just letting it go. For weeks, it was school work-edit-school work-edit or vice versa. Now, on the middle week of October, with everything almost done for school and while also trying not to cram on the side, I have found a delicate time to sit down and do this post.

This season, in retrospect had 'energy', I keep telling myself that this might be the season that designers brought back fashion's vigor with variants of detailing- expected and some not. From a collection that consisted of eighteen different brands to a photographic collaboration, this season was a bowl of variation, from colors to silhouettes, to textiles and detailing, Spring Menswear 2017 offers an opportunity for men to play on the refined side of everyday fashion or the more irreverent gender-bending pieces.

Vetements
Under the direction of Demna Gvasalia, the house whose aesthetics lean towards the more everyday fashion, but is blown out of proportion- literally! This season Vetements, proved why they are one to look out for and why they probably have the most coveted pieces of cult classics. It was already smart that Vetements introduced a more exaggerated silhouette for everyday, what more is it to collaborate with eighteen different brands who specialize in eighteen different fields. From Levi's with denim, to Dr. Marten's with boots to name a few. It was an excessive amalgamation of everyday rolled up to meet the standards of presenting in Paris. They might have shown during couture week and they might have out-shown some of those heavily embellished dresses with just the fact that one brand can bring different eighteen to a show harmoniously.

Raf Simons
We've passed by the news that Raf is newly appointed director of Calvin Klein, yet he still proves his brand is as strong as his previous directorship in previous design houses. This collection was a collaboration with the Robert Mapplethorpe Foundation, whom contacted Simons for the said collaboration. In a statement earlier, yes it was a photographic collaboration, having been given access to Robert Mapplethorpe's archive, Simons made use of this privilege to create this collection. This season of Raf Simons proved to be one you'll always remember (perhaps like the legacy Mapplethorpe left), it was literal yet smart, practical with an impact. As a design student, I was more impressed with the unabashedly straight-forward way of merging the photographs with fashion. It was just a huge square plastered on different parts of the fashion, but it made it all the more conceptually appealing. Like Mapplethorpe's imagery, this collection of Raf was blunt.

Balenciaga
With Demna Gvasalia's recent appointment to the house, Balenciaga offered a different venue for Gvasalia to express his formidability. A huge skew to what Alexander Wang proposed, this directorship has fresher perspective to approaching the house. Although, for this collection it felt like an offspring to Vetements, it was still a show that presumably shook grounds for braver silhouettes and proportions. Brave enough to convince men of the world to wear an oversized boxy blazer or if not a shrunken in size polo. It was evident that David Byrne's Talking Head be an inspiration, but for people who have no clue or some of those in my generation, let's safely assume Demna was inherently inspired by Frakenstein.

MAN
This season for MAN, was as strong as their last. With two new cast and one repeater, this season seemed perhaps a proposal for men to not conform to the norm's standards or in the general eyes of the public. It's always invigorating to see a brand or a collective for this case, always push the standards of the mainstream. From pants that almost look like skirts, to a dysfunctional fashion, and to pieces that are almost too effeminate for men. Who in their right minds would show such pieces to an audience locked to their ideals? But that's the beauty of MAN, they always go for designers who willingly detaches themselves of the too consolidated norm. And that's the asset they have over most of the brands.

Gucci
This season for Gucci's menswear was surprisingly underwhelming, but perhaps it may have been due to the fact that their Resort collection that came before this provided the grandeur. It almost felt like a little too cliche, to an extent of asking myself "is that it?" But because I love Michele, even if it was not up to par with his previous collections I'd still consider it one better than most.

Dries Van Noten
It may have been becoming known, that DNV's recent collections lean towards the more understated spectrum than most of his previous. Although, understated this collection still provides pieces that states an impact. From a discombobulated mix of prints on suits and bombers, to a silver foil shirt. This collection, represents the more poetic of everyday men; Men, who has already refined their style, but is a willing victim for playful prints.

Vivienne Westwood
In a perfect world, how nice would it be to see every men or women even, donned in this collection of Vivienne Westwood? A brand I had known for it's delicate touch on femininity (thanks Bradshaw!), but, I now respect for touching on a societal issue completely disregarded. This is the second collection of hers I saw with gender binarism out in the open and it completely hit all the right marks on my ticks. Foregrounded are really brave silhouettes and designs for men, that even the most courageous men dare not try. Ideally, it's eclectically impossible, but hey we live in a world of justifying millennials who knows what's up! So this might even be a greater collection for the generation whose minds are more open and whose ideas are more broad. 

Craig Green
Craig Green's (purposefully) enigmatic collection of wearable-comforters, yet almost not too wearable for any day, provides this season the flare everyone needs from those redundant suits. This collection spoke to me in many different levels: from the silhouettes, that offered a highly-stylized interpretation of any basic silhouette, to the colors that almost provided me a narrative on refugee states. This collection of Green, although really busy is far from being appalling. It's in its' own self a different kind of grandeur.

 Damir Doma
Romantic, probably the first word that came to mind upon seeing Doma's collection and the impression it left me. Although, contrasted with rawness it was still truly a balanced grit. From frayed hems to tailored suits, this collection shows a blatant contrast that speaks coherently to a mass, that still feels in love. After all, Doma himself named this collection "Never for money, always for love".






photos from
Vogue Runway

layout
Pierre Lindsey