Louis Vuitton - Menswear - Spring Summer 2013 - Paris

28 Jun 2012
Menswear Spring Summer 2013 Paris

Designer Kim Jones has spent a lifetime traveling the globe. So working for Louis Vuitton, a brand who’s middle name is travel, is turning out to be a pretty perfect fit. This season the designer took to the seas, both above and below the ocean waves, to create a collection that hit on a number of sea sports. On a video screen catwalk that slowly morphed from images of the deep blue to shallow tides and the water’s edge Jones orchestrated a show that easily moved from functional and casually elegant pieces to more sporty styles.

Besides the nautical theme of the show, which was dominated by shades of water, wet sand and white, the common denominator of the designs was the use of super luxe fabrics. That might look like a Louis Vuitton scuba outfit online, but in reality it was cut from cashmere. The sporty neon yellow blouson jacket, that’s not nylon, its leather. Those patchwork denim cargo pants that look like they have seen better days…would you be surprised to learn that they were cut from handcrafted Japanese fabrics?

You can’t talk about a Louis Vuitton show without mentioning the accessories. Here too, Jones has things under control. The classic deck shoes come imprinted with the LV epi pattern. Turtle keychains feature the Damier checkerboard outline on their shells, as do the dayglow messenger bags  crafted out of waterproof nylon (just in case they fall into the water off your super yacht.)

This was a classically elegant show that never let the theme, one that is used quite a lot by fashion designers, get the better of it.  Jones should be buoyed by this collection as it will help him continue to float at the top of the menswear field.

-Jessica Michault