ANN DEMEULEMEESTER MEN FALL WINTER 2017/18 PARIS

By Crash redaction

ROMANTIC AND DELICATE NOTES IN THE ANN DEMEULEMEESTER FALL-WINTER 2017 MEN’S COLLECTION

Blending romanticism with contemporary flare, Ann Demeulemeester delivered a collection punctuated by delicate and fragile details. From the first notes of « A Song for Europe » by Michaela Melian, the hall at the Palais de Tokyo was imbued with a wistfully nostalgic atmosphere that would have made Baudelaire shed a proud tear. Midway between the splenetic and the ideal, the models walked with gaze directed into the empty middle distance. With some wearing black feathered hats, most wore black and white to underline the duality between the color of mourning and the color of hope.

The collection showed an intensely delicate sensibility – including embroidery on transparent blouses – that gave the models an androgynous character. Not only did they convey a feeling of melancholy, the clothes also featured a relatively wide construction: a large black jacket was layered over a transparent white blouse and a beige hooded sweater with puffy sleeves revealed a bare chest, while a navel also poked through an unbuttoned shirt. We also found ribbons escaping from trousers or silk blouses, seeming to express a mood of lassitude. By showcasing delicate details such as the “L’avenir” embroidered blouse, lace ribbons or chokers, leather gloves or feather scarves, the models became the romantic heroes of the 21^st century, whose roots stretch back to the novels of Goethe or Chateaubriand.

Disconsolate? No way! Under the title of « L’avenir » (“The Future”), the collection opened the way to a new era: a time in which sensitivity has replaced violence, any thought that « it was better before » has vanished and, in spite of the show’s romantic and melancholic vibe, the future appears filled with hope.

www.anndemeulemeester.com

© Hannah Schönwald for Crash Magazine

Written by Lisa Tomasi