Men’s fashion: the beautiful surprises of summer

The spring-summer 2024 men’s ready-to-wear season marks a significant turning point in the luxury sector. By choosing an artist as well known as its Monogram – Pharrell Williams – to direct its men’s collections, then to parade on the Pont Neuf in front of an audience worthy of the Grammys, the Louis Vuitton brand made a quantum leap. She has, in one evening, materialized the economic distance that already separates her from other big names in luxury and confirmed her desire to be a “cultural brand with a global audience”. With a turnover of which we know that in 2022 it was greater than 20 billion euros – far ahead of the other big names in fashion -, Louis Vuitton is in fact playing in another division. Hers.

At 10:10 p.m., on the most famous Parisian bridge, Pharrell Williams’ first parade began in front of some 1,780 guests and the whole connected world. An event in itself, followed by a concert by Jay Z, rap star and king of the entertainment business. Set like a Super Bowl final – the beautiful sky of Paris in addition – the show was analyzed and commented on in the nanosecond on social networks. Rihanna and Asap Rocky arrived late, Leo DiCaprio would be hidden in the audience, will Jay Z and Beyonce sing together? LeBron James, Maluma, Lewis Hamilton, Kim Kardashian, Zendaya… the biggest Instagram accounts are there. The rumor that the Obamas “will not come in the end” circulates and makes a public shiver with excitement, although accustomed to the exceptional.

A playful collection

With the sunset, Paris suddenly takes on the face of this dream capital, whose inhabitants no longer perceive the “Emily in Paris” side of the thing (or Ratatouille according to taste). The “wow” effect works, the moment is magical… And under Lang Lang’s piano notes then the voices of the Voices of Fire gospel choir, Pharrell deploys his style, a wardrobe between street and tailoring, where the Minecraft aesthetic ( in the form of a pixelated checkerboard in camouflage colors) rubs shoulders with “rap diva” silhouettes and string costumes. This playful, sometimes “gender fluid” collection resembles Pharrell Williams and subtly salutes the legacy of Virgil Abloh, his predecessor, to whom the show is dedicated.

This spectacular – and successful – takeover by Pharrell Williams – who calls himself “son of a pharaoh” – and Pietro Beccari, CEO of the brand appointed in January 2023, no doubt augurs great work at Louis Vuitton. A new stone in the pharaonic edifice of this global brand. Fashion will be a question, but not only. B.D.

The trends of the season, seen by the editorial staff

Dressed to the nines

It’s not because it’s summer that there is a break in the pace. The sportswear wave and its excesses are definitely over. The suit returns, sometimes the tie. An incredible chic emerges from the juxtaposition of infused hues and subtle notes. Often, a particular accessory confirms that nothing is left to chance in the composition of the silhouette. Lovely little beanies in flashy colours, scarves tied tight like neck warmers, necklaces of fine multicolored pearls… Every detail counts. F. M.-B.

monochrome

The same color from head to toe, in shades ranging from white to black. Often, jacket, shirt, pants, even shoes go together. In this spirit, the mechanic-style jumpsuit is making a comeback on many catwalks, sometimes in a refined, sleeveless version, in off-white twill. These monochrome silhouettes confirm that the season is not about prints or logos, with rare exceptions. F. M.-B.

denim and workwear

The total look is also available in raw denim, twisted, topstitched and punctuated with rivets. These reinforced finishes, which are a hallmark of work clothes, will be included in next summer’s ready-to-wear. Also flaps, snap lapels, accumulations of pockets diverted from professional uniforms designed to be put to the test. Season after season, the workwear spirit is a classic, a safe bet in men’s fashion. Most men looking for value for money when shopping for clothes, this style has the knack of reassuring them. F. M.-B.

Fluid tailoring

This season, on the catwalks, the ubiquitous costume has shed its formal aspect. Passed by the designers to the filter of modernity, it has absorbed all the changes of the time and the trends of recent years: from the advent of sportswear to the fluidity of the genre. We find it sometimes in a shouldered suit jacket version and oversized shorts associated with boots or sneakers, sometimes flirting with couture and playing the card of transparency, a cinched or even draped waist, or precious detail (a knot, a flower, a pearl…). It is also said to be fluid in the true sense of the term, especially when it is cut from a luminous silk satin. A.F.

At full throttle

When it comes to fashion, is it better to suggest or to reveal? Extensive debate. Still, this season, the man shows everything. Starting with his torso: he directly puts on suit jackets without going through the shirt box, proudly wears openwork knits and transparent tops, and multiplies deep V-necks. On the first day of fashion week, during the fashion show of the students of the Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design from the IFM, one of them even sent a flesh-colored body-style tie suit down the catwalk. Maxi-buzz, but mini-commercial reality. A.F.

great shirts

In the history of fashion, change is often due to very small details. Lengthening or cutting, even a few centimeters, as was the case in women’s locker rooms with the miniskirt of the 1960s, can sometimes make all the difference. So this season, the shirt, a well-known essential in men’s wardrobes, goes down to mid-thigh, even to the calves. A new length that sometimes transforms uses. Note, these large shirts have become new spring overcoats or redesigned as jumpsuits. A.F.

AND ALSO: The Pharrell Tour

Pharrell Williams is definitely the man of the season. Not content with having monopolized fashion week – all editions combined – with the Louis Vuitton mega-show, the multifaceted artist with 14.7 million subscribers on Instagram also captured attention via several events on the sidelines of fashion week. . Thus on June 20, a crowd flocked to the Galerie Perrotin, avenue Matignon, where he presented “Just Phriends”, the exhibition of the second auction of Joopiter (his digital auction house launched in 2022). On display, a photograph of his left eye signed JR (starting estimate $27,000), a Jean-Charles de Castelbajac teddy bear military jacket ($8,000)…

The next day in the Marais, he inaugurated with Adidas an ephemeral store – Samba Café – which revealed three new colors of the Samba sneaker imagined in collaboration with Humanrace (his skincare brand). Two days later over a cocktail, he celebrated the arrival of his Humanrace products at La Samaritaine. Finally, he was seen in the front row of several fashion shows: Dior, Loewe, Kenzo. A gift of ubiquity reminiscent of that of Karl Lagerfeld in the past. A.F.

AND ALSO: the 3 accessories of the season

The Keepall bag

Since June 15, a giant billboard – Pharrell Williams’ first advertising campaign for Louis Vuitton – has covered the façade of the Musée d’Orsay. We discover the pregnant singer Rihanna, a cup in her hand, dressed in a pixelated checkered leather jacket, carrying three Louis Vuitton Keepall travel bags. Available in vibrant colors (red, yellow, green), these pop and playful models paraded on the catwalk on June 20, the evening of the artist’s first show for the house.

The Coffee Cup

Several models from the Fendi show appeared with a cup of Americano coffee in their hands. An accessory like any other that was also present on the Louis Vuitton show and in the trunk maker’s first campaign with the singer Rihanna.

B-Volute Moccasin

In grained leather, the new Berluti moccasin displays a very Italian chic. It is enhanced with a flange and a double B reproducing the ellipse of the staircase of the shoemaker’s historic boutique in Paris, located rue Marbeuf. AF and FM-B.