Ystyle trend report: Men’s Fall/Winter 2018

YStyle checks in on the menswear collections for eight of the most notable shows for our fall/winter 2018 round-up.

Caspian Sea: Grace Wales Bonner

Two years since she won the prestigious LVMH Prize for 2016 and only her fourth outing since she began, young designer Grace Wales Bonner continues to prove that her exquisite approach to tailoring, her poetic approach to menswear in general, goes far beyond “beginner’s luck.” Her clothes usually mine the richness of black male culture, sexuality and identity — this season, her allusions draw from the history of Creole sailors going back to port after long voyages at sea. This was evident in the nautical touches in her pieces: uniform-like short jackets paired with wide trousers, knotted collars and gingham-lined parkas. “It was about understanding Creole identity as an outsider, while also having a connection with it. By having a distance from the place, you think about it in quite a romantic way,” she said after the show, as reported by WWD. Wales Bonner’s unique point of view continues to be a poignant voice in a room filled with too much noise.

Mix Master: Dries Van Noten

Dries Van Notes gathered his usual mix of disparate influences into a cool and cohesive whole for fall/winter 2018. Standing testament to his longevity as one of the last, true independent designers, his continued genius with fabric mixes, painterly color treatments and louche, luxurious silhouettes continue to be par for the course — obvious to us onlookers and his legion of loyal clients as well. But let’s talk about the clothes, shall we? Wild West cowboy meets granny homespun knits, broderie anglaise meets menswear tartans, embroidered velvet bombers edged up with punk-tinged tailoring. Climaxing in a finale swathed in rich silk anoraks, every model walked on to form a sublime formation of swirling marble prints.

Swan Song: Louis Vuitton

The mood was a somber mix of triumph and heady anticipation as British designer Kim Jones staged his final men’s show for Louis Vuitton. After an iconic seven-year tenure, Jones leaves an indelible era at the luxury French maison, having evolved the label to include hype and covetability in the brand conversation (thanks largely in part to a genius Supreme collaboration last year). In a collection aptly called “Overview” — also a direct reference to aerial images of Kenya applied to the clothes as print and motif — the designer delivered his usual mien of upscale, travel-inflected street wear mixed with luxurious tailoring. More than just the clothes, however, the show was celebrated by a star-studded runway including David and Victoria Beckham; football star Neymar; peers such as Craig Green, Stefano Pilati and much more — and last, but not least, Jones took his final bow flanked by Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss wearing signature monogrammed overcoats. As reported by the fashion press, Jones left Louis Vuitton amicably with no news of where he’s off to next.

Quiet rebellion: Valentino

Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli continues to skew his oeuvre and the storied codes of his house for an ever-younger demographic. The result? A transatlantic, cross-generational, post-corporate, post-”old rules, new rules” approach to menswear. Say goodbye to the staid confines of the business suit and say hello to a more casual look, with all the trappings and exquisite tailoring of the renowned Italian label. As reported by Vogue Runway, the designer tries to answer the question, “How can a tracksuit become normal?” Cases in point: reimagining sweatpants, making them narrow and cut close, with a tuxedo stripe running down the leg. Paired with intarsia cashmere sweaters, slick puffers and zip-up tops, capes, coats, not to mention, Piccioli’s penchant for a white sneaker — the total look? Laidback Italian luxury at its finest.

Chaos Theory: Maison Margiela

For Maison Margiela’s first menswear outing, resident designer and creative director John Galliano married the poetic eccentricities of the storied house with his love for the dramatic. Ever the technical wizard, Galliano brought his cinematic flair  in reinterpretations of Savile and Row classics — all done up in the grand tradition of Margiela tailoring. Highlights include: a louche, bias-cut double-breasted suit in striking Yves Klein blue; impeccable coat silhouettes spliced with plastic or wrought-wholly in PVC.

Tribute brand: Prada

“I am in love with black nylon. I can’t have enough at the moment,” shares Miuccia Prada, backstage at a new company warehouse not far from the brand’s headquarters at Fondazione Prada. The Prada menswear fall/winter 2018 collection took it back to the ’90s — sending out a slick army of black, nylon-clad… messengers? Security guards? Futuristic ninjas? It was a hard-hitting tribute to the start of the decade, when Miuccia catapulted her family’s label from heritage brand to global status by way of the iconic nylon accessory. “Nylon is the emblem of the industrial side and when we started doing it, it was completely unusual.” Following the layers of the padded fabric — some treated by superstar designers Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec, Konstantin Grcic, Herzog & de Meuron and Rem Koolhaas — the show culminated in a throwback mash-up of the house’s iconic prints from the past seasons. Fleur motifs from fall/winter 2005 paired with zoot suit stripes from spring/summer 1996; the iconic bananas from spring/summer 2011, inspired flame print from spring/summer 2012, the star-crossed lovers from fall/winter 2016? Checks across the board. 

Child’s play: Marni

Marni’s Francesco Risso continues to operate under his own assumptions — naïve, idiosyncratic, sometimes outwardly outré — but always purely his own. For the label’s fall/winter 2018 outing, the designer notes his inspiration as “the seriousness of a child at play.” The look was a parlay between exaggerated silhouettes and children’s drawings for prints, unconventional suits swaddled in blanket-like coats. There is the feeling of discovery inherent to Risso’s oeuvre — familiar pieces to be found within the folds, technical expertise jumps out from his craft-inspired approach. His work at Marni is something to watch, to be sure. 

No holds barred: Dior Homme

Kris Van Assche was inspired by Dior’s iconic 1947 “New Look” for his newest fall/winter 2018 outing — a treatise and reinterpretation of the wasp-waisted Bar jacket often reimagined by the house. Sharp tailoring was par for the course this season, taking it back to Dior Homme’s signatures, but this time, it’s a cinch. Quite literally: imagine slim black suits tailored at the waist, giving more breadth to the shoulder and length to the leg. Classic topcoats and casual logo-emblazoned street wear rounded out Van Assche’s approach to modernizing the Dior menswear conversation.