Men's fashion week S/S 2013 show invitations

By Jack Moss
published

The finest Men's fashion week invitations to land in our laps this season

Words: Apphia Michael

A mini survival kit for the great outdoors


(Image credit: TBC)

Kenzo sent out this tin box containing a mini survival kit for the great outdoors - a cryptic nod to the jungle-inspired collection revealed at the show

Read the collection review

A gold embossed card

(Image credit: TBC)

Acne also referenced its collection in a themed invitation pack: a gold embossed card came inside a white and navy blue stripe envelope, mimicking the maxi stripes on the runway

Read the collection review

Paris Invites


(Image credit: TBC)

Acne

White envelope


(Image credit: TBC)

An unassuming white envelope with a simple typewritten address label from Maison Martin Margiela...

Read the collection review

Map of Paris


(Image credit: TBC)

... folded out to reveal a vintage-style map of Paris, which guided people to the show venue

Paris map


(Image credit: TBC)

Maison Martin Margiela

A fold-out envelope


(Image credit: TBC)

Kris Van Assche also opted for a fold-out envelope for its mininimal invitation

Read the collection review

White Envelope


(Image credit: TBC)

Kris Van Assche

The back of the Dior Homme envelope


(Image credit: TBC)

The back of the Dior Homme envelope had an elegant horizontal slot for its flap - a small detail but a neat one

Read the collection review

The matte Dior Homme envelope


(Image credit: TBC)

Opened up, the matte Dior Homme envelope revealed a glossy inner lining - a nice prelude to the classically set out embossed invitation card

Sacai's A4 paper


(Image credit: TBC)

Sacai's A4 paper offering could be unfolded from its rectangular card base. Details were clearly laid out in unfussy sans-serif script, but the type was playfully reversed on the back

Sacai


(Image credit: TBC)

Sacai

The layout


(Image credit: TBC)

The layout of the Comme des Garçons invitation subtly changes with each season, but the bones of its visual identity remain unchanged

Read the collection review

An illustration of various abstract body parts


(Image credit: TBC)

Housed in a small envelope, Givenchy's miniature poster opened up to reveal an illustration of various abstract body parts

Read the collection review

White envelope with paper


(Image credit: TBC)

Givenchy

A photograph

(Image credit: TBC)

Junya Watanabe Man sent out this poster, featuring a photograph of an urban skyline, reflected on water

Read the collection review

A2-sized rice paper

(Image credit: TBC)

Also in poster format, the Ann Demeulemeester invitation, printed on A2-sized rice paper

Read the collection review

A thick white card

(Image credit: TBC)

Berluti's pack sleeve was embossed with an etching of its venue, the Palais Royal gardens. Inside, a thick white card with silver edging summed up the presentation details

Read the collection review

A discreet silver foil wrapper

(Image credit: TBC)

We thought we'd seen it all from Bernhard Wilhelm's tongue-in-cheek invitations, until we received this one. Sent out in a discreet silver foil wrapper, it features a random collection of excerpts; from diary-style notes about the show venue... to images of cock rings

Email-style question


(Image credit: TBC)

We can't help but approve of Willhelm's cheeky email-style question

The envelope

(Image credit: TBC)

A sliver of silver on the envelope for Issey Miyake Man...

The enclosed invitation letter

(Image credit: TBC)

... continued on the enclosed invitation letter

An embossed copper plate

(Image credit: TBC)

An embossed copper plate stood out at Dries Van Noten

Read the collection review

Plastic bag

(Image credit: TBC)

A simple grey 'plastic bag' envelope from Yohji Yamamoto...

Invitation ripped at the edges

(Image credit: TBC)

... enclosed with an ultra-thin invitation delicately ripped at the edges 

Sea-scape gilt-edged card

(Image credit: TBC)

An abstract sea-scape fronts Louis Vuitton's gilt-edged card

Read the collection review

Invitation Card

(Image credit: TBC)

Louis Vuitton

A black satin ribbon

(Image credit: TBC)

Details of the 3.1 Phillip Lim show were initially concealed behind a black satin ribbon

A black satin ribbon

(Image credit: TBC)

3.1 Phillip Lim

Thick card invitations

(Image credit: TBC)

Thick card invitations were a recurring trend this season, as championed by John Galliano Homme, Rick Owens and Paul Smith

A blue envelope

(Image credit: TBC)

John Galliono Homme's card - backed by a cloudy sky - was sent out in a blue envelope

A white san serif type

(Image credit: TBC)

On the card's reverse, the show details came printed in a white san serif type

The Rick Owens card

(Image credit: TBC)

The Rick Owens card was a play on contrasts, with a setting of grey, black and white blocks

Read the collection review

Collaged rose

(Image credit: TBC)

Paul Smith's glossy, collaged rose later appeared as a print in his Spring collection

Read the collection review

The Lanvin logo

(Image credit: TBC)

The Lanvin logo came stamped on the invitation envelope

Read the collection review

A classic gilt-edged card

(Image credit: TBC)

Inside, Lanvin's show details were revealed on a classic gilt-edged card

The die-cut text on duplex printed card

(Image credit: TBC)

Moving on to the Milan shows, Salvatore Ferregamo sent out a clash of colour, made all the more striking with the help of the die-cut text on duplex printed card

Read the collection review

Red card

(Image credit: TBC)

Salvatore Ferregamo

Graphic flags

(Image credit: TBC)

These graphic flags from Moncler Gamme Bleu referenced a nautically-influenced collection and show performance

Read the collection review

Debossed card

(Image credit: TBC)

A simple, debossed card from Calvin Klein Collection

Read the collection review

Marni's brown cardboard envelope

(Image credit: TBC)

Marni's brown cardboard envelope was contrasted with a bright canary yellow invitation

Marni

(Image credit: TBC)

Marni

Namesake label

(Image credit: TBC)

The push and pull effect of the embossing / debossing and gloss / matte detailing on Jil Sander's invitation pack nicely marked the German designer's return to her namesake label

Read the collection review

Prada's invitation pack

(Image credit: TBC)

Prada's invitation pack referenced the linear architecture of the Spring show space

Read the collection review

Prada

(Image credit: TBC)

Prada

A craft-focused suede card

(Image credit: TBC)

A craft-focused suede card from Bally, with a stitched border

Bally

(Image credit: TBC)

Bally

A simple die-cut logo

(Image credit: TBC)

Featuring a simple die-cut logo, Gucci's card was held together with a magnetic strip

Read the collection review

The reflection of the Gucci logo

(Image credit: TBC)

Notice the reflection of the Gucci logo on the mirrored gold surface

A leather strap 

(Image credit: TBC)

Giorgio Armani also held its invitation together with a magnet this season - concealing it discreetly in a leather strap 

Read the collection review

Leather strap 

(Image credit: TBC)

Giorgio Armani

Invitation sleeve and card

(Image credit: TBC)

Z Zegna lined its invitation sleeve and card with moss green textured canvas

Read the collection review

A decadent gold mirrored nugget

(Image credit: TBC)

A decadent gold mirrored nugget from Alexander McQueen

Grid of die-cut squares

(Image credit: TBC)

Stare long enough at Fendi's grid of die-cut squares and you'll notice its show details hiding underneath

Fendi

(Image credit: TBC)

Fendi

A perfectly symmetrical landscape

(Image credit: TBC)

A perfectly symmetrical landscape from Dolce & Gabbana

Nostalgic toy parachute

(Image credit: TBC)

Over in London, Christopher Raeburn sent out this nostalgic toy parachute to mark his 'Deploy' collection for Spring

Christopher Raeburn

(Image credit: TBC)

Christopher Raeburn

A colourful marbled foam

(Image credit: TBC)

A colourful marbled foam offering from Topman Design

Machine-stitching a thin later of brown tracing paper

(Image credit: TBC)

Martine Rose also chose foam to feature in her invitation, machine-stitching a thin later of brown tracing paper on top for contrast

A black and white photograph of a textured wooden floor

(Image credit: TBC)

A black and white photograph of a textured wooden floor gave a touch of understated elegance to Margaret Howell's invitation

Witty image fronted the invitation


(Image credit: TBC)

Taken on David Waddington's iPhone, this witty image fronted the invitation for the Fashion East menswear installations at London's Carlton Gardens

Jack Moss
Fashion Features Editor

Jack Moss is the Fashion Features Editor at Wallpaper*. Having previously held roles at 10, 10 Men and AnOther magazines, he joined the team in 2022. His work has a particular focus on the moments where fashion and style intersect with other creative disciplines – among them art and design – as well as championing a new generation of international talent and profiling the industry’s leading figures and brands. 

Latest