The Other Shows

As i have been doing a menswear elective project these last few weeks I have been looking at images from the international menswear shows this season to get inspiration and see what is currently happening in menswear design.
Here are some of my favourite looks from what I think were the best collections at the shows in Milan and Paris for Autumn/Winter 2011:

Thom Browne

I'm a big fan of Thom Browne's quirky tailoring and his shows are always great events (previous shows have included models in astronaut space suits and lying asleep in rows of beds), this season he had models sat round a table filled with food like at a Victorian banquet. The collection itself reminded me of male characters from Hayao Myazaki's animated films and Johnny Depp in Benny and Joon. 

 

Howl's Moving Castle, 2004

 

 

Porco Rosso, 1992

 Benny and Joon, 1993

Junya Watanabe
I was inspired by Watanabe's experiments with proportion and traditional fabrics and prints. He plays with and twists classic looks to create something completely modern, like duffel coats made from leather and tweed, fair isle sweaters contstructed into blazers and lumberjack checks on what would otherwise look like a raincoat. The model casting for this show was also excellent, each very cool looking boy bringing an individual style to each outfit.

Dries Van Noten
I liked the incredibly wide legged trousers in this David Bowie-inspired collection and also the dramatic jackets with fur detailing. I think this is an interesting new direction (inspired by 70s style) for modern menswear as the collection manages to look graceful and elegant but masculine at the same time.

Jean Paul Gaultier
Androgyny is becoming increasingly de rigueur in fashion and Gaultier, who is not one to shy away from the dramatic, played on this to the extreme. I was interested in this collection because of the way it was presented, on models with long flowing hair and the use of androgynous male model Andrej Pejic, more that the clothes themselves.