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PEOPLE & ARTS Friday 18 January 2019
Givenchy designer puts on debut menswear show in Paris

By THOMAS ADAMSON dered in search of the show
PARIS (AP) — Designer venue by pyramids, Greco-
Clare Waight Keller un- Roman statues and luxury
veiled her first menswear boutiques to no avail.
collection for storied house Some fashion insiders even
Givenchy at Paris mens- ended up following un-
wear week Wednesday as suspecting tourists in the
actress Laura Dern caught wrong direction, confusing
up with The Associated them as part of the fashion
Press at Valentino's display press.
that channeled the darkly Others were led up and
depths of monochrome. down stairs, and above
Dern spoke about how, and below ground several
as a mother of a budding times, before finding the
model, she is taking a par- proper entrance.
ticular interest in the fashion Inside the venue, there was
industry. little respite for the lucky
Here are some highlights guests who did eventually
of the fall-winter 2019-20 get in as they sweated in
shows. sweltering high tempera-
GIVENCHY MENSWEAR tures in the jungle-like show
STANDS ALONE decor.
Keller, the house's first-ever VIRGIL ABLOH'S URBAN EX-
female designer, reflected CESS
her growing confidence in Big silhouettes, bold color
menswear by holding the and urban styles were be-
first standalone men's show hind Virgil Abloh's visually
since she ascended to the arresting fall-winter collec-
house's artistic helm in 2017. tion.
It was an old-school pre- Concrete slabs were laid
sentation that harkened among overgrown creep-
back to the traditions of ers, grass and ferns as the
Parisian couture. A model wears a creation for the Walter Van Beirendonck men's Fall/Winter 2019/20 fashion col- show decor to evoke a
A small group of guests lection presented in Paris, Wednesday Jan.16, 2019. sense of inner-city decay.
climbed the neoclassical Associated Press This was the first clue to un-
steps of Givenchy's couture derstanding the American
salons to discover Waight bubble jackets evoked the watchful eye of designer it pretty safe. it-designer's urban vibe that
Keller waiting by masses mix-and-match styles of the Raf Simons, and Dern says Blocks of monochrome — played on excesses in color
of delicate baby's breath haphazard nineties. that Valentino's designer in gray, camel and black and overgrown proportion.
flowers that adorned the But the acute precision that Pierpaolo Piccioli has also — were a key theme of the It's little wonder that the
wooden Haussmannian has been proven in Waight been "generous" in helping collection that was held house has, in the recent
floor. Keller's couture shows was his nascent career. inside an industrial-looking past, attracted the likes of
The beautifully constructed also abundantly clear in Dern, who came to fame hall of the Grand Palais. Jay-Z, Drake and Kanye
clothes captured the indi- this very strong standalone via collaborations with di- Round sloping shoulders, West.
vidualism of the 1990s in a debut. rector David Lynch, said boxy torsos and baggy Billowing denim jeans with
contrast with the historic A tucked-in white shirt, for she encourages her son to pants defined the silhou- hanging toggles began an
venue. example, was constructed tread carefully in an indus- ette. oversize theme, alongside
In an unusual touch of class, with a double outer panel try that can be so public, But much of the creative a huge suit jacket and a
the designs were explained that hung down outside but to relish the opportuni- work, such as contrasting gargantuan fanny-pack
by the 48-year-old designer softly: part-grunge, part- ties to meet "designers he textures and layering, were slung across the torso.
as the garments were be- angel. loves." rendered invisible because Unfortunately, these made
ing showcased by models. LAURA DERN IS A PROUD "When I was his age, I met of the monochrome. up the most subtle part of
The silhouette featured MOTHER David Lynch who inspired The collection was, how- the display.
long, and sometimes flared, In a pleated red silk Val- me so much as an actor. I ever, not lacking in nice Shredded silver ribbons
legs; oversized shapes; entino gown, "Blue Velvet" feel like Ellery should take it quirks, such as a spaceship then cascaded from bell-
rounded shoulders; and actress Laura Dern looked slowly and find the people motif and one voluminous silhouette Glam Rock
flashes of bold color: violet, very much the part on the that help him find his des- gray Sherlock Holmes cape boots, followed by con-
electric blue and fuchsia. design house's front row tiny." coat and detective-style trasting checks and a giant
Waight Keller's mission, she alongside rapper G. Eazy. VALENTINO GOES MONO- hat hybrid. column bubble jacket that
said, was to take the hard- As the mother of 17-year- CHROME OFF-WHITE, OFF THE BEATEN did away with the model's
ness out of men's clothes. old Ellery Harper — Dern Valentino claimed it was TRACK body. Abloh later delved
"My woman in Givenchy said she was taking an in- bringing street attitude to Chaotic scenes abounded into eye-popping neon.
has a strength to her ... but terest in the fashion industry the atelier. in Virgil Abloh's collection Neon oranges, reds and
I wanted to bring a softer to help her son. But for fall-winter, Italian for Off-White that was held blues in knitted oversize
side to the men's. Part of "My son is modeling now so designer Pierpaolo Piccioli in a little-known part of the scarves, tops and coats
that is (seen) in the flowers, I have a particular interest seemed to have lost some sprawling underbelly of the might have reflected the
but also in the feel of the in men's fashion in a new of his creative attitude after Louvre as many guests got bold hues of urban graffiti.
roundness, softness and the way. I'm fascinated," she a run of superlatively glori- lost. The oft-unwanted street
fluidity of the fabrics," she said. "You will see him very ous seasons since he took The museum structure is, by art form was more lit-
explained. soon in Paris." over the sole artistic reins in quite a margin, the world's erally evoked in graf-
Slim suits, flared check Harper has modeled for 2016. biggest. fitied text reading "Public
pants and soft truncated Calvin Klein under the On Wednesday, he played Bewildered editors wan- Television."q