The Paris Menswear Fashion Week A/W ’23 was a synthesis of several creative viewpoints coming together in such a way that each designer made a unique statement. Every usual standard was defied by the trendy designs, from workwear having a leisurely spin to streetwear getting a tailored twist.
In addition to being imaginative, designers concentrated on making clothing feel more wearable than before. Designers from all over the world contributed to the emphasis on work-leisure aesthetics. The majority of creators made a significant twist to their assortment with radically vivid garments rather than sticking to a single range of deep hues. While the leisure attitude was incorporated into work culture with the help of long, lean overcoats with broad shoulders, there was also a rush of patterns and colours that were displayed through hyper-layered clothing and print-on-print combinations.
Designers revived vintage trends with flannel shirts, varsity styles and double-breasted coats owing to youth culture’s preference for pop and preppy tastes. The facewear and handbags were two more things that stood out in addition to the outfit. Each designer revamped the usual handbags and gave them an unconventional bling and structure. From blood-splatted faces to punk facemasks, designers went through the ensemble from the top to the bottom.
While a lot of people were enamoured with the distinctive blends of vibrant and pop hues, muted and neutral tones like purple, blue, grey and brown created a different fanbase. All-black outfits were there to conclude the colour spectrum, bringing jaws to the floor with their sensual, fitted forms and the exquisite refinement of each and every detail employed in their creation. Another example of how blending colours can seem so appealing was seen in the tie-dye garments.
Due to the fact that it was an Autumn/Winter collection, some materials such as faux fur and wool, remained on top of the heap, while others, including latex, technical satin and mohair twill from the 1950s, offered a fresh take on the generally conventional winter wardrobe.
Animal and striped patterns remained trendy and predominated strongly in the layered clothing with absurdly long pants and wide-shouldered coats. The illusion and camouflage prints added to the seemingly limitless array of such prints.
Paris developed into a centre of all the essential menswear trends that would suit every personality owing to the never-ending inspiration from various cultures and the collaborative approaches with artists taken by select premium design firms.
Listed below is the round-up of some of the most dominating trends for Autumn/Winter 2023 that were brought forth by many designers in terms of colours, prints and themes.
Workleisure Aesthetic
Economic, historical and technical variables have had a significant impact on the study of the link between work and leisure. The workleisure aesthetics was primarily influenced by post-pandemic preferences and flexible work cultures, which resulted in the rise of comfortable apparel. This new fashion movement was given life by PFW ’23 because numerous designers showed off extremely modern garments that were reprogrammed with comfort in mind.
Traditional preparations were remixed by Solid Homme with modern beats and visuals drawn from the work of Spanish Basque artist Eduardo Chillida. Woo Young Mi’s Solid Homme presented their Fall/Winter 2023 collection inside the Élysée-19th-century Montmartre’s ballroom on a runway that defied all expectations of linearity. Everything in a proper varsity wardrobe, from mid-length cardigans to unrestricted outerwear to shirts layered with letterman jackets to boat shoes, was carefully selected. The appeal of the entire set was enhanced by the use of vintage textiles like velvet and corduroy.
The Creative Director of Givenchy Matthew M. Williams debuted a line of heavily layered menswear on the runway, layering hoodies and wide-legged bermudas with suitable jackets. The tuxedoed, all-black suits that were worn in the opening completely changed the atmosphere. Givenchy’s interpretation of the ‘new formality’ received conflicting reactions.
Voluminous Outerwear
Long-line overcoats with broad, padded shoulders made up the majority of the winter wardrobe as the desire for workleisure aesthetics persisted. The emphasis on comfort increased with the large selection of pea coats with sagging shoulders and brashly oversized flight jackets.
The Saint Laurent collection was described as a continuation of the designer’s most recent male offerings, which have been distinguished by artistic precision and precisely defined silhouettes, especially in uncompromising, wide-shouldered construction, supported by brief glimpses of suppleness and passion. Here, Anthony Vaccarello, Artistic Director of Saint Laurent, observed a yearning for a lot of volumes, which was reflected in big overcoats.
RAINS, a Danish outerwear lifestyle brand, came to the conclusion that preparing for the weather may also be an artistic design experience. With puffer coats, parkas and full-length suits that featured extended forms, enormous proportions and striking fabric finishes, the entire collection adopted a more conceptual approach to design. Of course, nylon served as the main fabric, but sherpa, mesh, cotton and spandex inserts were also used.
The sophisticated Fall collection by Hed Mayner was a sartorial gem that had the audience on their toes. Mayner experimented with volume, layering and proportion to give the clothing a voluminous effect while keeping a traditional appearance. In order to give the clothing an aged appearance, he also experimented with various textures and materials, including bonded, washed, chopped, pressed or otherwise ruined textiles.
Fresh Muted Tones
The majority of the PFW men’s collections had earthy, neutral colours that were quite serene and calming to look at, despite certain designers going overboard with their colour schemes by choosing vibrant and vivid pairings of colours.
The most recent men’s collection by Véronique Nichanian for Hermès was infused with sentimentality and a generous spirit, and it reworked wardrobe staples with relaxation, tenderness and pragmatism in mind. She claimed that it was a collection for accomplished men. Smoke, sand, fog, camel, navy, ivory and caramel were among the colours used in the Hermès line. Nichanian’s use of a variety of textiles this season, including cashmere and silk foulards, also reflected sensuality.
On the day of his runway presentation on Wednesday in Paris, designer Christophe Lemaire relaunched his company, dropping his first name and emphasising his signature utilitarian clothing and uncomplicated outerwear. Lemaire presented multilayered knits, herringbone tweed coats, elevated double-breasted jackets and a variety of pants, including some slim-cut denim designs that stretched down to stop above the ankle bone and other pleated forms with more volume. The colours of fall were chosen, with hints of crimson, foliage green and blue-grey.
Multitude of Prints
Prints comprised a big share of the Paris Runway Week. Even the traditional stripes and checks have been transformed into something more striking and potent. Camouflage prints and animal prints both persisted in the collections. Although sets began with the opposite all-black ensembles, the print-on-print trend was once again firmly established because as the collections developed, prints began to take centre stage and soon appeared everywhere.
The setting for Louis Vuitton‘s most recent menswear collection was a vivid rendering of a house. This season’s collection was co-created by the label’s creative team, many of whom worked under Virgil Abloh, and American designer and artist KidSuper, aka Colm Dillane. The clothing was decorated with faces or whimsical, eccentric details, such as a coat and hat embroidered with pages.
Givenchy‘s collection featured beautifully hyper-layered clothing in a kaleidoscope of colours and prints, including camo, cheetah and tartan. As the show progressed, the fitted codes loosened up as an homage, according to Williams, to the multiplicities of contemporary masculinity.
The House is trying to ensure they’re set to have more enjoyment than ever before wearing this stunning collection of premium updated must-haves, not to mention the opening pair of hairy cow print jackets, which define Bluemarble‘s modern man while drawing inspiration from old codes. Adding cheetah print spots, contrasting zebra stripe paneling and suede collars modernised the double denim look.
Retro Rides
Designers traveled back in time for the F/W 2023 men’s collection and returned with admirable silhouettes and patterns, some of which were long forgotten and others which were so timeless that everyone was aware of them. The most elegant patterns include stripes, plaids and military prints. There were also double-breasted jackets and cuffs with four buttons.
With his collections, Louis Gabriel Nouchi is known for telling tales, and for Fall 2023, he chose American Psycho as his source of inspiration. As the designer played around with the silhouette, the suits were deserving of all the praise. They had shoulders that sprang out and a tight waist. In order to achieve classic businessman looks, he incorporated slightly drooping sleeves from the 1980s and matched them with wide-shouldered coats.
In the seventh arrondissement of Paris, the enormous American Church served as the setting for Paul Smith‘s most recent menswear collection, which the British designer claimed was motivated by the Modernist movement. This season, the company dubbed the designer’s work ‘more erudite’, putting special emphasis on his print expertise. Throughout the collection, bold graphic designs appeared that drew inspiration from Modernist interiors including rug prints, florals and other tactile elements. Many items shouted retro, from gingham designs to jackets from the ’90s.
Chic-Smart
Although ‘formal meets comfort’ received a lot of attention, streetwear also took a great chunk of PFW. Chic-smart emerged as a new look with the addition of tailored cuts and refined features, coupled with hints of adaptable collars.
A Dries Van Noten collection was a place of self-expression and freedom where themes of flora and fauna ruled. Mixed materials dressed in earthy tones are coupled with fine knits in flesh tones. Building on the floral concept, the knitwear and bomber jackets’ vibrant patterns, and striking hues are influenced by drawings found in the Meise Botanic Garden’s collection in Belgium. Pastel colours induced delicacy, while washed silks, overdyed textiles and textural knitwear generated a sense of fragility.
A barefoot model introduced Gunther‘s show while donning a black suit studded with tiny round metal plates featuring the company’s insignia. Then, a fitted two-piece suit in a similar design was worn with shorts in the same thick fabric as the long, oversized, vintage-inspired wool coat. Wide ties with crystal accents added a preppy touch to the range; unstructured cotton shirts in white or striped versions to which the company name was applied in various formats; and a complete knitwear offering that featured long frayed sweaters, wide scarves, or striped T-shirts and pants.
