Rounding up the top men’s show venues of the A/W 2016 season
Dior Homme: Crowned by a glittering chandelier, a minimalist, neon-lit skate park set the scene for the unveiling of Kris Van Assche’s A/W 2016 Dior Homme collection.
Writer: Ali Morris
Dior Homme: Produced by Etienne Russo’s Brussels-based studio Villa Eugenie, the spectacular composition of glowing red ramps and halfpipes sought to fuse grunge with luxury and a mood of rebellion with celebration
Acne Studios: The Jean Nouvel-designed Helene Bailly Gallery in Paris was clad with square, wood panels to set the scene for Acne’s military-inspired collection. Punctuated by a graphic red ribbon, the Eyesight-designed set was the perfect accompaniment to the boxy cut of the Swedish label’s utilitarian garments
Alexander McQueen: Whitehall’s grandiose Durbar Court with its triple-height atrium, elaborate marble floors and stack of granite columns and arches provided a jaw-dropping backdrop to McQueen’s Talisman-inspired show. Shrouded in darkness, carefully placed spotlights illuminated the models as they emerged onto the marble runway to the sound of bird calls in the jungle that eventually gave way to a soundtrack written and performed by psychedelic rock band TOY
Belstaff: Belstaff took us on an expedition to the depths of Southwark’s Victorian Ewer Street, where the venue’s red brick arches were styled with boulders, gravel and fake snow fall. The inhospitable terrain was an ode to the pioneers of endurance riding who, according to VP of men’s design, Frederik Dyhr, ‘threaded their bikes through some of the most inhospitable conditions for the sheer challenge of the journey’
Berthold: Just like the clothes that graced the catwalk, the set of this season’s Raimund Berthold show was all about covering and smothering. Nodding to the performative sculptures of German artist, Franz Erhard Walther, Berthold’s catwalk was lined with screens covered with white fabric pulled taught – much like blank canvases - that were then cut to reveal a black surface underneath
Canali: A series of vertical blades placed in varying states of rotation divided the runway at Canali this season. In accordance with the collection’s exploration of the visible/invisible, the architectural backdrop concealed and revealed different portions of the space depending on the viewpoint. ‘There is so much of the world that we don’t actually perceive, and I wanted to explore this concept for the new season,’ explained Canali’s Andrea Pompilio
Roberto Cavalli: The frescoed ceilings, neoclassical furniture and damask walls of Milan’s 17th century Palazzo Crespi - the most tightly locked private villa in Milan – competed for attention with the animal skins, rich velvet and ornate embroideries of Dundas’s 1970s-infused collection. Restructured in the 1920s by Milanese architectural maestro Piero Portaluppi, the Villa’s walls are lined with priceless works of art including a fleet of giant canvases by Venetian artist Canaletto
Coach: Refurbished last year, the Royal Horticultural Society’s cavernous Lindley Hall easily accommodated Coach’s heavy-duty construction-inspired show set. Snaking around the space and incorporating bench seating and a runway, Stuart Vevers’ cor-ten structure recalled the industrial surrounds of the American label’s Hudson Yard HQ in New York
CMMN SWDN: The swinging 1970s provided inspiration across several collections this season including CMMN SWDN’s. Titled ‘Domus’ the collection explored clothes as an extension of the Seventies home with a suitably retro domestic backdrop to match. A wall of wood-effect wallpaper punctuated by two doorways saw models emerge from behind rust coloured curtains to take their turn on a plush blue carpet
Z Zegna: A brick wall sprayed with graffiti and a gyrating dancer ensured that there was no mistaking Zegna’s street-inspired Z Zegna line for its couture cousin, Ermenegildo Zegna. Decked out in down coats, sporty techno fabrics and tweed tailoring, the models criss-crossed Z Zegna’s sidewalk set complete with empty spray cans and abandoned pots of paint
Versace: Versace conjured a bright white, space age set for its futuristic A/W menswear collection. Models sporting silver brocade backpacks and Star Trek pins stalked a glossy grid of intersecting runways, which were mirrored on the ceiling by flat LED panels. The show began in darkness as the models frenetically ran down the central runway outlined only by the glowing fiber optic–threaded detailing on their garments. Slowly but surely the lighting panels brought the set to life in a clinical shade of violet before shifting into a stark white light for the duration of the show
Thom Browne: Thom Browne’s theatrical show took place around a series of picture frames and a huge chandelier all suspended in mid air and shrouded in dust sheets. With their faces covered by top hats, the models slowly weaved in and out of the frames
Rick Owens: The show was titled ‘Mastodon’ – a reference to the now extinct relative of the mammoth who disappeared from North America around 10,000 years ago
Rick Owens: Furthering the theme the designer set up an artisanal Armageddon in his usual venue – the vast concrete basement of the Palais de Tokyo in Paris
Missoni: Dressed in pieces inspired by a trek through the Himalayas, Missoni’s nomadic male models crunched their way around a carpet of crisp autumn leaves that were laid out across the colonnade of Universita Statale di Milano’s central courtyard. Seated around the edge on simple wooden benches, guests kept Milan’s winter chill off with felt Missoni blankets made especially for the occasion
Pringle of Scotland: This season, the Scottish heritage brand transported its audience back to a bygone era with a show set inside Italianate private member’s club, The Reform, on London’s Pall Mall
Pringle of Scotland: Built in 1841, the palatial venue includes a library stocked with over 75,000 books and an ornate 28-feet-deep saloon covered in marble, gold leaf and ornate plasterwork. Here, Pringle’s knitwear-clad models descended a red and gold-carpeted staircase into the colonnaded atrium
Marni: The Italian label’s Viale Umbria showroom was left raw and unfinished with nothing but a simple white tape line outlining the off kilter catwalk. With guests seated on benches topped with simple plastic moulded seats, the showroom’s rough concrete walls and polished grey floor provided the perfect understated backdrop for the clean lines of Consuelo Castiglioni’s menswear
Prada: Mrs Prada teamed once again with AMO, the research arm of Dutch architecture practice OMA to create a ceremonial set that took over the interior and exterior of its Via Fogazzaro venue
Prada: Constructed entirely from plywood coated in civic red paint, the ‘trial’ set inside included a system of balconies and tribunes that blurred the line between the participant and the observer
Pal Zileri: Inspired by artists from the Bauhaus School, Pal Zileri’s A/W collection was full of symmetries and geometries as was the spectacular light-filled show set at Piazza Vi Febbraio. As light projections danced across the walls like shadows cast by moving headlights on a highway, the same rectangular shapes flowed down an LED-carpeted runway giving the optical illusion of a conveyer belt while creating a synchronised movement
Louis Vuitton: Japanese artist Shinji Ohmaki recreated his ethereal Liminal Air Space-Time installation especially for the Vuitton runway at parc André-Citroën for A/W 2016. Made of stainless steel mesh, the light filled cloud that undulated over proceedings at the carefully-timed twilight show was chosen by Kim Jones as an ode to Paris, the city of light, both past and present
Dunhill: The Savile Club in the heart of Mayfair was a fitting location for Dunhill’s English gentry-inspired display. Transporting the audience to the creative club’s 19th century heyday, Dunhill divided its debonair collection across a handful of rooms, displaying the finest pieces for different occasions
Dolce & Gabbana: A still life assemblage of rocks, cacti and agave plants headed up Dolce & Gabbana’s Sicilian Western-inspired catwalk. Kicking up clouds of dust as they walked the gravel-lined runway, models were busy filming their surroundings on iPads customised with Western-themed stickers. The footage was promptly projected onto screens dotted around the venue
Dries Van Noten: Having received an invitation in the form of an official ticket for the Opéra National de Paris, guests to Dries Van Noten’s A/W 2016 show at the Palais Garnier arrived through the performer’s entrance. After climbing up a long row of creaky wooden stairs, they took their seats in the wings of the stage with their backs turned to Marc Chagal’s infamous 1964 mural and watched as models walked around a vaulted arch from Robert Carsten’s set for Strauss’ Capriccio