louis vuitton

A sense of utility pervades the Paris fall men’s collections. At Louis Vuitton, models toted LV cases on standard-looking luggage carriers, their suits liquid and soft for movement and in shapes of ink, petrol and brown. This morning, Junya Watanabe’s patchwork jackets and jeans evoked hunting gear. I’m always a sucker for the clothing at Farmer’s Supply, wondering what I could do with a snap-front brown cotton jacket or an orange utility vest. Now I know. Watanabe has deconstructed the outdoor elements in a charming way: with reversible pinstriped suit jackets patched in red checks and corduroy, jeans and cropped khakis with patches, and coats with the illusion of a second vested layer. Dries Van Noten’s collection, held last night at the Communist party headquarters, was a bit too frugal even for these times: too many one-color outfits and belted coats with an automaton cast. Yojhi’s men looked sweetly frumpy — and drowsy — in pajamas and hooded bathrobe coats.Louis Vuitton

At this stage of my absence from the blog, I think I should offer only a wildly good story, like I went to Holland to get a pair of custom-made clogs, where I promptly met a man called Fortunato Mannix who promised to give me rubies if I…

Oh, you don’t expect me to tell you the whole story, do you? It would spoil everything. But: apologies to all for being away so long. It was necessary, that’s all I’m at liberty to say. And I will get back to the comments on the last post, which I see have exploded like kudzu. (Marko & friends abroad, that’s a creeping weed common to the American south, not a dress frill or a conservative politician.)

Speaking of politicians, I was sitting last night at the YSL men’s presentation next to the British actor Simon Woods (from the bonnet drama “Pride and Prejudice”) when he said his next stop was Hillary Clinton’s campaign trail, in Nevada or South Carolina. That was a lot more interesting than Fortunato Mannix. Apparently, Woods campaigned for Clinton in Iowa, too. I know actors get involved in American political campaigns, but a British actor? Didn’t he have a top hat to put on?

A look from the YSL presentation. (courtesy of YSL)

“I think she’s the combination of strength and experience and integrity,” he said.

Woods appeared in a triptych video that YSL designer Stefano Pilati did in lieu of a runway show, and which you can catch on Monday on the YSL site, YouTube, and Showstudio, among others. The film was effective, particularly in capturing the rich, crystal-like colors and the contemporary attitude. I liked the clothes: those ruddy tweed coats with soft cotton henleys; the tie-dyed velvet blazers (think crushed velvet) with wide, old-school English-y tweed trousers; the stiff jackets and biker jackets in a new Japanese rain-repellant felt; the fuzzy-curly coats vaguely hinting of the 70s. One of my favorite looks was a collarless navy blazer edged in grey flannel. Nearly always when I see a Pilati men’s show I think, Why can’t he do this piece or that piece for women? There is—how shall I put it?—more peculiarity with his men’s shows than his women’s. Not more finesse but a natural expressiveness, registered best in his choice of fabrics.

Before the YSL presentation, I stopped by the Bristol Hotel for a small gathering for Jonathan Newhouse, who runs Conde Nast International for the family firm. Jonathan was receiving an Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters. He gave a very funny, affectionate speech filled with stories of his early endeavors to learn the French language, including the phrase “My tailor is rich.” He threw that line toward Sidney Toledano, the chief executive of Dior. It’s always great hearing an American describe his experiences in Paris. The party had a mix of friends, family and business people, including S.I. Newhouse, Carine Roitfeld, Franca Sozzani, Karl Lagerfeld, Nicolas Ghesquiere, Alber Elbaz, Stefano Pilati, and Ralph Toledano (of Chloe).

More men’s wear this afternoon. Louis Vuitton opened with a model lugging a LV case for vinyl LP’s and another in a motorcycle helmet. The general tone of the swank sportswear seemed to be “a man who has a life.” There were shawl-collar jackets, turtlenecks, cobalt and electric blues, dusty pinks, chalky-dense fabrics, and some of the boys had their hair swept out like the back end of a mallard duck. It was charming, really.

Dries Van Noten’s show tonight was terrific: Lots of colors of the bottle-green and deep purple variety, and a fresh, overall looseness. He took the classic navy blazer and pair of gray flannels and softened them in a casual way, pulling the line slightly downward. He also played around with pajama tops and pants, in plaid silks, but saved them from looking like a collegiate cliché. The show was intelligent, combining sophistication (a classic navy overcoat with a dark fur collar) and a street dressiness (a chunky navy and cream striped turtleneck, shirts with tails out). Van Noten is good at suggesting the stylishly improvised—this season on a runway of strips of brown packaging tape cut and arranged in a herringbone floor pattern.Chanel

I’m off to the warm lights of the Café Castiglione for a good French steak.