From Saint Laurent’s fog-filled spectacle to Louis Vuitton’s Californian beach and Rick Owens fountains and inflatables, the Spring/Summer 2027 season unfolded against a critical heatwave, resulting in a more relaxed vision of modern menswear.
The week started with Saint Laurent, where, amidst a cloud of steam by artist Fujiko Nakaya whose immersive fog installations are currently the subject of a retrospective at the Bourse de Commerce in Paris, Anthony Vaccarello once again presented a solid collection. The commitment of the front row here deserves to be noted: a handful of attendees wore last season’s infamous latex PVC socks in that weather, and Charli XCX shared a cigarette with Madonna before the show. Worth the heatstroke.
The show also included what might have been the most talked-about footwear of the season. Designed by Corrado De Biase, the house’s head of footwear, the transparent PVC heels prompted Vaccarello to question backstage whether if women were made to wear polyvinyl heels, men should follow suit. As for the actual clothes, a tamed palette was then turned up by silk scarves that became chokers and briefs that exposed the bare legs. When it wasn’t paired with pastel-hued windbreakers, the tailoring was paired with sheer tops. Suits were closed by bejewelled buttons, and power shoulders Vaccarello has made his signature remained, while a gold lamé suit and trench coat provided the golden finale to another successful Saint Laurent outing.
If the mist at Saint Laurent wasn’t enough, Louis Vuitton constructed what might have been the season’s most talked-about set, designed by Pharrell Williams himself, bringing the beach and the waves to Paris, almost predicting the city’s relentless heatwave. The surf-inspired collection captured a relaxed spirit through effortless Californian tailoring, pairing structured blazers with graphic tees, sun-faded hoodies, distressed denim, and worn-in leather, and plenty of LV-branded objects, from surfboards to bikes.
The prints at Rei Kawakubo’s latest offering for CdG Homme Plus read “The United Nations of Comme des Garçons”. With a collection titled If the War Were To End, a hopeful Kawakubo presented a noticeably softer side of her menswear. Relaxed blazers and coats were layered over ruffled shorts, a sharp contrast to her previous menswear collection, where garments leaned much more towards uniforms and military dress. The joyful finale, with models skipping and jumping rather than marching, confirmed the shift.
Soundtracked by Fred again.., Jonathan Anderson’s third outing for Dior menswear was an exercise in refining and establishing what he believes the Dior man should be for Anderson; he is a young, aristocratic, private school student that probably stays up all night more often than not. Printed chiffon suits arrived deliberately untailored, while distressed denim featured frayed threads woven together with chains, something that seemed to vex Hedi Slimane online. Do the Eton boys stay for the after-party?
Whether it was the white fan gifted at the entrance or the relocation due to the heatwave, Celine felt like a breath of fresh air. Not because everything was new, there were plenty of clothes we’ve seen before, but because they were made to feel new again. Michael Rider’s first menswear collection was a lesson in French style: how to dress like the coolest guy you know. Rider refused to commit to one silhouette, there were tight suits and fluid tailoring, skinny jeans alongside wide leg trousers, cummerbunds with t-shirts. The styling was masterful too — ties tucked into shirts, beaded necklaces and headpieces, keyrings hanging everywhere, belts layered over coats and shirting and barely there sandals.
Sarah Burton continues to excel at dressing , not just real women, but now real men too. For her latest collection, she collaborated on a presentation with British sculptor Rachel Whiteread, whose installation featured Untitled (Canister Series). If Timothée Chalamet’s butter-yellow leather red carpet look was your thing, you’ll probably enjoy the colour-blocked tailoring Burton built throughout the presentation. The accompanying lookbook, photographed in London by Juergen Teller, featured filmmaker and DJ Don Letts, painter Danny Fox, photographer Sir Don McCullin and other men of different ages, shapes and backgrounds, perhaps much closer to the brand’s actual customers than the endlessly youthful fantasy many luxury houses seemed intent on selling (and selling to) this season.
Soshi Otsuki, last year’s LVMH Prize winner, received such recognition after presenting a parade of well-dressed Japanese salarymen. This season, that same cast seemed to have relaxed. The tailoring felt looser, not only because of the premium Japanese fabrics now available to him, but because of the softer cuts of the garments. Balloon trousers with gentle pleats, boxer shorts, and shirts left casually unbuttoned made it seem as though every businessman had finally gone on holiday.
Like Williams, Rick Owens, who’s proved to be environmentally conscious, appeared to predict the heatwave. His set featured monumental water arches beneath which models glided as they crossed the metallic structure spanning the pool at the Palais de Tokyo. Soundtracked by an exclusive techno remix of “Girl in Bed” by Sissy Misfit, Owens also unveiled an Adidas collaboration, including inflatable tracksuits equipped with their own body-cooling system. Fashion’s answer to air conditioning, or to the climate crisis, perhaps.
The overall consensus, however, was that many of the smaller presentations and showroom appointments stole the spotlight. London’s John Alexander Skelton, for example, presented a lookbook photographed inside an early Georgian house. Less severe than previous outings, the collection felt ditsy, with floral motifs inspired by the work of eighteenth-century English silk designer Anna Maria Garthwaite.
