RUNWAY RUNDOWN : givenchy, men's spring 09

from one extreme to the other . . .
my favorite show of the season,
the one that shortened my breath and made my nipples hard,
and also the hardest to bring into real life:
givenchy homme.

(homme is "man" in french.  get with the program.)

from the start of the show, there was something new going on.
it was a look at masculinity mashed with the feminine
(blah blah blah, it's been going on for three seasons now on various runways)
but this actually incorporated lace and leather and leggings (all women's current trends)
in ways
that actually made me go
"NO.  wait . . . maybe.  wait . . . i really love those.  oh god, i can't LIVE WITHOUT THEM."

(things like this happen all in my head.  i do not say them out loud.  often.)

(click on any image to enlarge)

something about the length combined with the textures make the sheer work.  i mean, it's not exactly office-wear, but in a big city, this is easy at a hot restaurant, to a party, etc.   

then it gets trickier:

i'm sorry.  HOT.

seriously HOT.

leather leggings?  don't roll your eyes at me, this is the vanguard of fashion.  
i'm not going to go all "devil wears prada" lecture about trends trickling down, 
but a legging under a short is happening more and more, and people aren't revolting.  
even if they think it is.  

if it helps,
think of them first as slimmer sweatpants, 
then really lightweight long-johns, 
and think of the layering the way the whole music festival scene wears their thermal underwear 
under shorts and tees and fleece.  
only, you know, without (shudder) fleece.


and there's something about the silhouette that emphasizes the BACK more than the front, 
from the reveal of the skin, 
to the ass and shoulders being so tight, 
to the calves.  

while the front is almost a riff on that abercrombie-sleeveless-tee-and-shorts look.

but here's where ricardo tisci (the designer, new, and on his second men's collection)

gets interesting and really pushes things:

jolts of transparency and color.

wait, more:

grommeted leather scarves?  american flag tees?  
(lord, i worked for a brand that sold flag tees every 4th for five dollars.  not these kind.  but not a bad idea . . . )

and then, lace shorts:

i am just perverse enough to want a pair of these.  badly.

and if someone were to simply, oh, i don't know,
send me the beige outfit, i would wear it.  you know, grocery shopping.  or to lucques in l.a.

or put on that damn leather outfit and really scare the neighbors.

though, i am in san francisco.

might have unintended consequences.

point is:  this is why we watch.  
fashion taking leaps, 
not trying to appease us or help us do the same thing again.  

fashion evolving before our eyes.