menswear designers in Paris

Jean-Paul Gaultier looks to a more elegant era for inspiration for his fall/winter 2008/09 men’s ready-to-wear fashion collection at Paris Fashion Week

Paris menswear designers opt for caution
Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent play it safe with classic looks
With fears of a U.S. recession sending shivers through the retail sector, menswear designers in Paris are following the lead of investors and seeking refuge in safe-haven values.

In clothing terms, that means faultless tailoring and subtly opulent fabrics, as evidenced by the fall-winter collections presented on Thursday by leading labels including Louis Vuitton, Yves Saint Laurent and Jean Paul Gaultier.

Vuitton had a novel solution for the cash-strapped consumer: rob a casino!

Its menswear designer Paul Elbers paid homage to heist movies with sharply tailored suits featuring secret pockets and reversible tricks. The outfits literally had the color of cash — muted tones of emerald, sapphire, brown and taupe inspired by old bank notes.

Though Vuitton has seen its share price tumble by more than 20 percent since late October, its chairman and CEO Yves Carcelle is gambling on its lineup of new products and high-impact advertising campaigns to keep the luxury behemoth on a roll.

“When you’re a luxury house, you don’t tailor your strategy based on the short-term economic outlook,” Carcelle told The Associated Press. “At this stage, we have absolutely not felt the recession, so why worry about something that hasn’t yet happened?”

Meanwhile, front-row guest Joshua Jackson said he was happy to find grown-up clothes after the recent fad of rock star skinny suits.

“I can actually put this on and not feel like I’m in shrink-wrap,” the actor said, pointing to his Vuitton jacket.

At Yves Saint Laurent, Italian designer Stefano Pilati also has been taking a stand for real men.

Though he reined in the ultra-large volumes of last season, there was an unfussy elegance to his 70s-flavored collection of crushed velvet jackets, wide cuffed pants and Indian silk scarves.

Pilati chose to forgo the catwalk in favor of a glossy video presentation coupled with a showroom presentation. This gave guests a close-up glimpse of innovative fabrics like the paper-thin leather of a biker-style zippered waistcoat.
Jean Paul Gaultier has challenged gender roles in the past by putting men in skirts and makeup. This season, however, even the most respectable British gentleman would feel comfortable in his collection of classic pinstriped suits and houndstooth jackets.

The French designer limited his trademark irreverence to styling touches like rounded bowler hats and heavy biker boots that conjured images of Alex de Large, the ultra-violent hero of Stanley Kubrick’s cult film “A Clockwork Orange.”

Didier Grumbach, head of the body governing French fashion, said he was hopeful that emerging markets would help high fashion weather any economic turmoil.

“Intuitively, I am tempted to say this is a favorable period,” he said. “There is a lot of potential in the opening of new markets — even if there is a crisis, you mustn’t forget that five years ago, Russia, India and China were not conceivable markets.”