Yesterday I spoke about Milan Fashion Week, the highlights and the lowlights. Today I will offer my opinion on Paris Fashion Week, which was pleasantly more fanciful, but—of course—that also means less “mainstream.” Anyway, creativity was definitely on the runway, something I always prefer!

To me, fashion is not about maintaining the status quo but rather freely expressing one’s identity within the context of innovation. Each time I see a creative collection of menswear, I feel a sense of deep gratitude for the freedom of expression that we can enjoy.

At Paris Fashion Week, there was a sense of freedom evidenced in the flowing balloon pants by Yohji Yamamoto or the breakup of the formal suit with shorts (Raf Simons) and skirts (Rick Owens).

Some designers continued the theme of the dandy, such as Ann Demeulemeester; while others followed recent trends of combining the formal suit with athletic wear, such as with Viktor & Rolf. 

Military prints were not absent, as in Dries Van Noten’s collection.  Missing, however, was a lot of color.

For me, there was no one winner.  I think the show was a winner—a winner in creativity and innovation.  On second thought, maybe there is a winner.  It’s not my look but it is surely creative.  Anne Demeulemeester.