Thoughts and notes on Mens Spring/Summer 2025 Fashion Week
What nobody asked for yet here we are...
The first Fashion Week I ‘attended’ was in the peak of Covid where URL links to livestreams replaced the whimsical art of physical invitations. This season, Spring/Summer 2025, felt reminiscent of 2020-something lockdowns, where I found myself bed-bound (for reasons I have been advised against disclosing). So, avoiding the suffocating heat of Milan and Paris as I viewed every other story reminding me of what I was missing, I, critic as I am, watched the shows from the comfort of my bedroom (which, all and all, wasn’t so comfortable) in the same uniform that reigned supreme during the pandemic, sweats and an oversized tee I slept in the night before. Anyway, here are some thoughts on
Martine Rose
It’s a shame that London sees many of its talented designers flee its confines of its city to find more fruitful opportunities over seas, a tale as old as Vivienne Westwood’s time, but seeing the desolate calendar of London Men’s Fashion Week, it is more than understandable why Martine Rose would want to do so. After all, even when she did show in the English city, she preferred a sporadic showing of her latest work. Always one to challenge conventions, both in fashion and by association beauty, Martine Rose did exactly that for her SS25 collection, where models were seen decorated with a large, golden prosthetic nose. The vivid characters of Rose’s rave-y life were dressed in reconstructed chaps and 80s style boiler suits, met with a sharp eye for tailoring and drapery. It is Rose’s greatest strength that, once again and without fail, shined through on the runway, as she turned the “ugly” and unconventional fashion and subverted it into a passionate confession of affection for those who breathe life around Martine Rose, then woman, and into Martine Rose, the brand.
Lemaire
Lemaire has never been one of those brands that has always been on my radar. After this season though, it sure as hell will be.
Gucci
The recreation of any heyday will inevitably plateau if novel concepts are not brought to the moodboard.
Rick Owens “Hollywood”
There are very few designers per generation who well and truly can be labelled an inspiration. Just as Virgil Abloh was in his own ways, so is Rick Owens. In the sweltering heat of June in the French capital, Owens calls back to his earliest memories his imminent career days where the clamour of Hollywood Boulevard embraced him and welcomed him to the land of “weirdos and freaks,” his “people,” as he returns to where more of his “people” now follow him, in the Palais de Tokyo. Though, instead of his loyal disciples watching, as they so ceremoniously do, outside the Parisian landmark, they were instead invited by Owens himself to walk in the show, two hundred participants and counting. A stark U-turn from his “Porterville” collection last season which was intimately held in his Parisian pad, it has now become a habit of the designer to steer us from one end of the Owens universe to the other season after season, where this season the nicknamed Lord of Darkness gave us an exemplary showing of light, not just in the all-white formation of his collection, but in his conviction for unity. Amongst the chiffon capes and rolls of translucent silk gazar, Owens points to the twofold beauty and essence of fashion; the masterful garment construction, and its consequent ability to evoke a higher meaning. Perhaps it is exactly with this collection that Owens’ aspirational nature comes most to life. In what seems almost a swan song, Owens reminds us that his creativity is an act of rebellion; a rebellion against the straight types like his father once was, as well as a rebellion against the corporate types, as he embodies the archetype of a dream career for any designer in the making, entirely in control of his narrative as his image.
Louis Vuitton
Will Pharrell’s millionaire playground vision continue selling the bags? Or would they be doing that on their own?
Prada “Closer”
This Prada collection made my mind race back to Miuccia Prada’s quote which has been engraved in mind since first reading it: “every single morning I have to decide if I am a 15-year-old girl or an old lady near to death.” This collection definitely had a Miu Miu flair to it with its intentionally disheveled details, maybe because in these past few years the little sister brand has adopted Prada-isms, or maybe because Miu Miu has been battling Prada for that top spot of hottest brand; the hot leading the hot. An incurable touch of youth permeated the collection with its midriff-exposing shirts (arguably the sluttiest garment for a man, respectfully), but not without thought. The wisdom of its co-creators underlined the boiler suits, cable knits, and tailored trousers, many of which were decorated with trompe l’œil details and hidden metallic pliable wires which could alter the worn affect of certain pieces, in a clear and conscious commentary on the act of dressing. Over the past four years of collaborative collections, this one might have been the best we’ve seen out of the pair, the one that felt the most Miuccia-meets-Raf, and Raf-meets-Miuccia, for a synergetic result where the lines of inspiration are being blurred into a singular, working unit.
LOEWE
All I’m going to say is I haven’t stopped thinking about those tailored trousers accentuated with an excess of fabric pinned at the left side of the waistline. Especially those with the tartan overlay. Magnifique.
A$AP Rocky x American Sabotage AWGE “American Sabotage”
A$AP Rocky gave us a surprise show by AWGE, his creative agency, co-designed with Joshua Jamal, Bede Marchand and Coucou Bebe, which was met, so far as I can see, with polarising reviews. What I strongly enjoyed about his collection was his reference, which seem to pull from Raf Simons’ seminal “Riot! Riot! Riot!” Collection with the use of head scarves, and Demna’s oversized and somewhat satirical logo-obsessed aesthetic. We also saw ideas that were reminiscent of the rapper’s home, New York, and experimental takes, such as the bombers worn upside down, imbued with a political messaging that certainly reflected the general state of America. It was certainly a dignified effort by Rocky to bring more to the table than just his name. Was it absolutely revolutionary? No. But it was something that felt very Rocky and that was more exciting than other outputs by designers who have been doing this for much longer than he has.
Dries Van Noten
A big loss for menswear. Still crying, brb…
Honourable mentions go to Kiko Kostadinov, KidSuper, sacai, UNDERCOVER, and Wales Bonner, which were an absolute pleasure to watch as per, and congratulations to Adrian Appiolaza for a reinvigorating Moschino collection. As far as Vogue World goes, still confused, still wondering, still asking questions…