Men's Fashion Week kicked off over the weekend, and there was plenty to get excited about with the big guns showing collections that were both sensitive to the surreal times we're living through, and pleasingly escapist in their ambitions.
Virgil Abloh, creating a line-up of fascinating personas (the Artist; the Salesman) based on stereotypes that settle in at childhood for Louis Vuitton AW21, used James Baldwin’s Stranger in the Village as a creative springboard. Shooting his characters between Switzerland and Paris - Baldwin’s essay dealt with the parallels between the author’s experience as an African-American man in a Swiss village, and his life in America - the collection asks some interesting questions about provenance and ownership in our current social climate: ‘If Kente cloth – the fabric of Virgil Abloh’s cultural heritage – is rendered in tartan, does that make Kente any less Ghanaian and tartan any less Scottish?’ reads the show notes.
At Fendi, Silvia Venturini Fendi commissioned an exclusive dance-pop piece of music called 'What Is Normal Today ft. Silvia.' The answer appeared to be lots of loungewear, as well as squishy housecoats, jewel-bright colours like emerald and saffron, and a collaboration with Brit Noel Fielding (Fendi HQ must have some fans ofBake Off), who provided psychedelic artworks that squiggled their way across the clothes.
SEE: The AW21 Style Tricks To Steal From The Menswear Shows
1 of 11Brooch Party at Louis Vuitton
After Lady Gaga's spectacular dove-shaped brooch at the inauguration ceremony, pins and buttons are set to soar in popularity. Abloh's take is a trio of silver airplanes parked down the front of a single-breasted coat. In lieu of actually catching a flight, we're very much on board.
2 of 11Duvet Day at Louis Vuitton
This is survival clothing at its most high-fashion: a pair of silver-tipped cowboy boots, a wide-brimmed hat and the most fabulous quilt transformed into cosy-as-can-be separates.
3 of 11High Drama at Louis Vuitton
After living in leggings and wellies since the start of the year, we're craving clothes that aren't so much practical as fantastical. This trench + train is right up our street.
4 of 11Check Mate at Louis Vuitton
We have, however, been majoring in blankets (on the sofa, in the park) so are definitely on board with this checkered take from Abloh.
5 of 11Glove Compartment at Prada
For their first joint menswear collection, the maestros, Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada, gave gloves a new lease of life with zingy shades and zippered pockets for spare change, parking tickets and maybe even a weeny pot of lip balm.
6 of 11Base Layer at Prada
Almost all 42 looks were worn with a polo neck, either black to streamline lots of layers or, on the jazzier end of the spectrum, something geometrically printed with primary-coloured patterns.
7 of 11Twinset at Prada
Simons might have his own uniform, but seems to appreciate the fact that most of us have been kitted out in knitted loungewear sets since March 2020. His knitted co-ord, complete with a turtleneck + over jumper, is what we want to wear until the weather thaws.
8 of 11Coating Of Optimism at Prada
Prada's outerwear came in all shapes and sizes, but was almost universally eye-popping in colour, with pinks, purples, turquoises and powder blues in the line-up. Cheerful, no?
9 of 11Soft Touch at Fendi
Fendi also explored lockdown's favourite clothing category: loungewear. Its biscuit-coloured dungarees have comfort-factor - and then some.
10 of 11Dressing Gown at Fendi
Thought dressing gowns were just for grandpas? Fendi says think again, with a padded robe that looks fit for the street as well as the sofa.
11 of 11One Note at Fendi
Finally, the fastest way to look pull together for last-minute video calls? Wear head-to-toe of one jewel-bright shade. Trust us (or rather, Fendi).
At Prada, Raf Simons and Miuccia Prada meditated on 'an intimate and personal wish for contact', which translated into body-hugging base layers for extra protection, as well as generously-cut bomber jackets in bombastic shades of blue and pink.
In terms of what we'd like to wear circa now, we'll take the leather-gloves-slash-coin-purses at Prada, the theatrical trench coat at Louis Vuitton, and the sumptuous dressing gowns at Fendi. Please?