July 1, 2015
Paris Menswear: A Flashy Finale
Matthew Wexler READ TIME: 4 MIN.
Pierce Brosnan and Gary Oldman attended the Saint Laurent Paris show - not as celebrity actors but as proud and genuinely nervous parents.
Their sons, Dylan Brosnan and Charlie Oldman made their runway modeling debuts in the show after being discovered by designer Hedi Slimane.
Here are the highlights of the last day of Paris Menswear Week, including Saint Laurent, Lanvin, Paul Smith and Agnes B.
PROUD PARENTS
Oldman said he was jittery for his 16-year-old son Charlie before his modeling debut in Paris - after he was discovered at a music concert wearing an YSL jacket by the fashion house.
"I'm a little nervous for Charlie. The Yves Saint Laurent house is such a tradition ... It's great that he, in a small way, can be part of it," he told The Associated Press.
Meanwhile, former James Bond actor Brosnan was predictably cooler.
"It is a proud moment. We're here to see our son on the runway. To support him," he said.
"He's not modeled before, and Hedi (Slimane) just discovered him at a juice bar coffee shop in Malibu," he added, laughing.
SAINT LAURENT HEADS TO WOODSTOCK
Slimane headed directly into counter-culture (and perhaps counter-fashion) for his glitzily shabby fash ode to the late Sixties hippy on Sunday.
Torn denim jeans, knitted bobble hats, unkempt hair, boys that look like girls, (and vice versa), lumberjack shirts, army surplus coats, Peruvian ponchos and tie-dye tops were all thrown into the creative mix by the irreverent designer who seemed to channel the styles of the 1969 iconic Woodstock music festival.
It was intentionally provocative - given the clothes' exorbitant price-tag.
The collection, which was also one of Saint Laurent's most decorative, mixed high and low.
Among all the shabby hippy wardrobe sprung out some real gems - like a fabulous patchwork leopard print tuxedo, or a richly embroidered jacket that was made from every color of the rainbow.
Whether the fashion media were being duped or not, it was great fun to watch.
BROSNAN TALKS OF BEING MOBBED IN IRELAND
Brosnan, 62, was pictured being mobbed by fans on Saturday while in Dublin filming for his latest movie, a revenge film called "I.T."
"You know, I'm Irish and it's just so wonderful to be back home filming this film," he said.
"It's really touching as well that there is clearly this excitement that I'm back there," he added.
LANVIN CONTINUES '80s-TINGED LOVE AFFAIR
NBA star Amar'e Stoudemire continued his whistle stop tour of Paris Fashion Week, arriving at Lanvin with his wife for the Sunday morning show.
In the collection, co-designers Lucas Ossendrijver and Alber Elbaz continued their recent flirtations with the '80s, offering up a varied collection - dominated by neutral colors.
The show's opening statement - an oversize pale gray polo shirt with a model with slicked-back hair - set the clock firmly back to the era of exaggerated volume and form.
More '80s references abounded - like a huge, voluminous blue suit, with big round shoulders, turned up sleeves, and high-waisted pants - and white patent and punk-looking boots. Elsewhere, a turned-up collar on a stylish pea coat cut a graphic silhouette, especially with the floodlit lighting inside Paris' storied Left Bank Ecole des Beaux Arts.
In other looks, there were flashes of detail, embellishment and layering - tassels flapping down from long jerkins, necklaces, hoops on belts, and neck scarves.
The collection packed no great surprises, but was consistently stylish.
AGNES B. MIXES SOBRIETY AND MADNESS
It was an eclectic mix of styles in Agnes B.'s creative pot Sunday.
A sober start of black-and-white suit and shirt styles was followed by white jeans and a snug-looking denim jumpsuit that the Parisian designer, bien sur, twinned with a Left Bank-standard foulard.
But there was a welcome flash of madness.
Two psychedelic, multi-colored hoodies, burst onto the catwalk midway through, with one nicely evoking the decorative swirls of Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. And the psychedelic was repeated in a pair of flower power shirts.
The color chapter also produced the show's most on-trend moments - with citrus yellow (one of the main colors of the season) appearing on turned up pants, and a shirt. But the extent of the creative madness ended here.
PAUL SMITH'S COLORFUL EIGHTIES
Paul Smith is perhaps the menswear designer most closely associated with bold color.
Sunday's show proved why - with the British designer cleverly riffing off the trend for the 80s by reviving that decade's often-overlooked penchant for vivid hues on exaggerated jackets and pants.
The first clue to this mission was an oversize burnt orange jacket with angular shoulders - that hanged loosely down to the mid-thigh. It was masterfully contrasted with a subtle vermilion in the shirt and high Eighties pants.
The most eye-catching of the colorful looks - were some on-trend citrus yellow pants - a hue that flashed back in boots, a shirt and a sweater later in the collection.
There was also a hint of the dazzling era of Glam Rock - with one bold, shiny gray double breasted jacket and stylish skinny tie.
Matthew Wexler is EDGE's Senior Editor, Features & Branded Content. More of his writing can be found at www.wexlerwrites.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at @wexlerwrites.