Sunday saw quite the buzz around the New NewCeline show – the debut by Michael Rider, a well-liked alumnus of Phoebe Philo’sCeline, Nicholas Ghesquiere’sBalenciaga and Polo Ralph Lauren.
The result was – quelle surprise! – an amalgam of Ralph, Phoebe’s Celine and Hedi’s Celine. What does that look like? Classic Ralph-like preppy-isms (camel coats, primary colours, blazers and rugby shirts), Phoebe-era scarves and bags, and Hedi’s cool factor in the skinny pants (hated those!) and indie-Oxbridge haircuts.
People at the show complained it looked messy and unfocussed. From watching Reels and the after-show coverage, I’m taking away that Rider is a merchandiser, not a designer’s designer. We won’t be getting any radical silhouette changes, but he knows how to pile on product and make accessories and luxury staples look desirable. No, I don’t think he will have the cultural relevance of Phoebe’s or Hedi’s Celine, but that’s not what he was hired for.
When you’re dealing in classics, styling counts. Hedi did it with his youthful casting, while Rider did it with the help of Brian Molloy. The sweater-over-blazer, off-kilter silk foulards and moody sunglasses all gave ‘French Vogue editor’ nonchalance (with a touch of L’Etiquette). I really liked those elements and could see myself in them. A fascinating titbit: Fashion Roadman reported that Hedi was rarely seen at the Celine factories, whereas Michael Rider has been going in deep at the R&D centre and into the archives. If that’s true, I like the idea of Celine’s classics being of the highest quality, because if not, you may as well go to J. Crew or vintage Ralph.
Overall, the collection has been somewhat polarising; one camp loves the commercial vibrancy, the other is miffed it’s not saying anything different. I think for a first collection it’s where it needs to be, and hopefully will take a few risks in good time.
What I loved: The energetic colour palette. Crease-front jeans. Expert scarf styling. Cropped leather bombers. Plus, the canopy of Celine-logo umbrellas – way to do clever branding.
What I didn’t love: The dresses – what happened here?! Skinny jodhpur-leggings – please, no.
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla IMAGES: Celine Spring 26 by Michael Rider NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
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It feels like my favourite moments of Paris Fashion Week men’s were the colour-drenched ones. Willy Chavarria’s saturated pinks, blues and yellows, and Saint Laurent’s nostalgic 70s Fire Island palette felt like a welcome answer-back to the monopoly of Cucinelli-meets-Piana muted neutrals. Add to that, deliberately skew-whiff styling (messy shirt collars at Dior, chappals and trackies at Prada) and the juxtaposition of casual with formal and there’s plenty of inspo to steal from the menswear rail. What’s more, you don’t have to wait till next summer, you can implement many of these ideas now…
These smart short shorts with formal shoes and socks (above and below) are gaining momentum season to season and are a look I can see tipping into the mainstream with a modification or two. A little note in the latest Fantastic Man mag made an interesting point about Prada menswear, suggesting that Mrs Prada sees shorts in the same way as skirts, a way to adjust the length of a garment and the corresponding amount of leg on show. Adding the formality of the smart-sock-and-shoe duo to something considered casual – the short short – is a fresh way to rethink styling and something everyone can play with. The tie doesn’t need to be taken literally and probably won’t (or will it?!), but it reinforces the ‘formal’ message in the equation.
Let’s talk about these strong shouldered shirts, transparent neon blouses and tissue-thin nylon cagoules (top and below). I love them and their slightly kinky undertone! Tucking an oversize K-Way* or similar into pleat-top tailored shorts has the same unexpected effect. Stick to more classic colours if you prefer, or thrift for some original 80s pieces in vibrant prints if you want to be more adventurous. At the TURN x Literary Sport pop-up in Paris, I clocked vintage Agnès b and IRIÉ, that would easily nail this look.
Echoing the masterful colourist skills of Mr Saint Laurent himself, Anthony Vaccarello excelled with his colour co-ordinations (below). A semi-precious jewel palette of amethyst, citrine, jade and sunset orange helped the washed silk shirts and diaphanous blouses pop against espresso brown silk taffeta tailoring.
Striped and piped PJs for day – so good! Saint Laurent showed elements of dishevelment in the most chic and controlled way. I love the crisp pyjama tops messily tucked into boxers and paper bag trousers (below). The deeper meaning may be a nod to ‘subtle gestures of exposure’ in reference to 1970s Fire Island queer codes, but superficially they just look relaxed, cool and ready for anything.
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla IMAGES: Saint Laurent menswear SS26 NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
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“I’m not interested in luxury as a symbol of privilege. I’m interested in luxury as a symbol of truth in one’s own character. Exquisite tailoring and craftsmanship worn to elevate one’s personal intent — that’s power. That’s fashion.” Willy Chavarria, SS26
Boy, was I fortunate to see this quote in action last Friday, from my Paris menswear front row seat at Salle Pleyel. From the sober-but-powerful opening scene (to José Feliciano’s California Dreamin’) of 35 men in long white tees, shorts and socks, referencing the recent dehumanisation of U.S immigrants in Salvadoran prisons, the collection then went on to exuberantly reflect Chavarria’s personal exploration of identity, resistance and “refined subversion”.
Importantly, this collection also marked a clear entry for Willy Chavarria into the womenswear market. A veteran of Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren (and two-time CFDA Menswear of the Year), his menswear credentials are rock solid, but a concerted push as a designer offering everything from RTW to handbags and shoes is a much bigger deal. Once you enter the realms of womenswear proper, you can embrace beauty, fragrance, jewellery, accessories — the world really is your oyster.
To facilitate all this, Chavarria leaned on his head of design, Rebeca Mendoza to create the women’s silhouettes (which represent 50% of the collection), emphatic that he didn’t want to be another designer designing womenswear from a purely gay male perspective. “We work really closely to make sure that we’re designing for how women want to be seen rather than for how men want to see them,” he said.
For me, the men’s and womenswear complemented each other in perfect harmony. As a woman I would be more than happy wearing the casual coach jackets, boxer shorts and puff-shouldered blazer from the men’s collection. But those fluid Italian leather trench dresses in butter yellow and cloqué siren skirts have the power to propel the womenswear to magazine covers and red carpets.
On which note, we must take a moment to appreciate these colour combinations. Cinematic turquoise and pink, yellow and blue, magenta and Coke can-red – if it’s making you recall Wong Kar-Wai or Pedro Almodovar, that’s because those were the filmic influences. Chavarria also referenced worker’s uniforms and described using “colour as a form of rebellion” in dark political times.
One standout colour was a saturated hue called ‘Bourdin blue’, a knowing nod to one of the major elements of the collection. SS26 sees Willy Chavarria collaborate with the heritage French footwear brand Charles Jourdan*, whose surrealist Guy Bourdin-photographed ad campaigns revolutionised fashion advertising in the 70s .The sleek golden-heel pumps, 100mm ankle straps and delicately chain-strapped disco sandals are replicas of the 1970s originals that famously tripped the streets of Paris and the dancefloors of Studio 54 (although these latest beauties are remade in vastly superior leathers). Seeing them up close in the re-see showroom, I was struck by how incredibly contemporary they look nearly 50 years later.
The overwhelmingly positive reaction to the show reminded me of all the essential moving parts that work together to define a landmark fashion show. If you’re there in the room, you have to feel emotion – that’s the thing that makes it memorable. And that comes from a combination of staging, casting, styling and music. Plus, just a little bit of magic.Vivir Quintana’s live vocal was heart-stopping, while the show’s movement coordinator Pat Boguslawski was the same person responsible for 2024’s internet-breaking Margiela couture show.
The styling details – colourful layers, visible boxers, turned-back cuffs, egalitarian key charms – gave a defiant attitude that’s become classic Chavarria. And I don’t think I’m the only one who visibly gasped at Omahyra’s swaggering out in her midnight blue trench and baggy pants. And again in the finally, flanking Willy alongside – OMG! – Farida Khelfa! In Willy’s words, the effect was “powerful, strong, yet feminine”.
We’re in an interesting – potentially pivotal – moment in menswear right now. Both Ralph Lauren (age 85) and Giorgio Armani (age 90) are ageing out of the sphere of influence, possibly releasing their stronghold for something altogether different after a circa-50-year monopoly.
Jonathan Anderson’s entry at Dior also points to change. In addition, it feels like the 2020s are only just beginning, since we lost the first few years to Covid. Then there’s all the shit going down in the world, from toxic masculinity to billionaire-ocracies to A.I’s underlying threat to humanity traditional power structures.
People often question if fashion truly has the ability to influence how we live and experience the world. Well, designers like Willy Chavarria are certainly offering us the chance to take stock as we witness the impending shift.
*Disclosure: I’ve been consulting with Charles Jourdan recently
WORDS: Disneyrollergirl / Navaz Batliwalla IMAGES: to come NOTE: Most images are digitally enhanced. Some posts use affiliate links and PR samples. Please read my privacy and cookies policy here
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“From the first conversation to the final frame, it felt like floating.”
The joy in these photos, taken by Tyler Mitchell for the MET’s ‘Superfine: Tailoring Black Style’ exhibition catalogue, is palpable. Fabulous finery, impeccable styling, chic shoes (opera pumps!), gentle gestures, it’s all there. Mitchell said he pulled inspo from “Harlem, Atlanta, Lagos, London, and beyond.” The show, a “cultural and historical examination of Black style over three hundred years through the concept of dandyism”, opens on 10th May (preceded by the MET Gala of course) and looks like one of the strongest MET Costume Institute shows in recent years. (more…)
