Plunked in the center of Louis Vuitton’s runway on Tuesday evening was the house that Pharrell built: a glass and blond wood rectangle, owing much to Philip Johnson’s Glass House. The kitchen was furnished with midcentury modern classics. A listening room featured an imposing wall of speakers, and there was a wardrobe prestocked with Louis Vuitton garments.
It looked like something a millionaire might erect on a Malibu cliff. I imagine there are already grand designs at Louis Vuitton corporate headquarters to move this structure around as a concept store for the globally fortunate. (Its name, DROPHAUS, flicked at that idea.)
I’m still not sure how that prefab dwelling related to the clothes. If I squinted, I could sort of see a theme of everyday life. Perhaps a Harrington jacket worn over a dress shirt and tie is what you’d wear to commute on a nippy Monday. Or maybe you’d loop that brown scarf over your indigo blue jacket if the temp dropped while you were out shopping?
To be honest, it took effort to make those connections. It was difficult to interpret the clothes with so much else going on around them. In addition to the haus, a string orchestra played and a gospel choir sang Pharrell songs. Stained glass trunks, destined for museum display cases, kept coming out at regular intervals. And so, once again, this was a Pharrell-led Louis Vuitton collection in which the clothes were overshadowed by the spectacle.
That’s a shame. Because when I looked at the collection online, there were some chew-on-this ideas, like a cable knit sweater in two shades of red with pockets slapped on the front, and a tan suit that looked to be camel’s hair but was actually made from sturdy twill.
A simple gray Glen plaid overcoat was as smart as anything I saw from the tailoring stalwarts in Milan last week. And there is something to Pharrell joining the growing ranks of designers endorsing suits and ties (even if his suits often come with shorts).
I especially liked the new crinkly blazer that had a single button at the center of the rib cage, angular hip pockets and gathered cuffs. (As for what I made of the jacket that looked like fleece but was actually mink, or the blue reptile-hide blouson, who cares? The clients will buy them. Their dollars matter more than my opinions.)
But after the show ended, once Pharrell had taken his protracted bow and greeted the LVMH chairman Bernard Arnault and John Legend, I was again left hoping that one day he would pare things back. That he would let his clothes be more than window dressing for the company’s next ambitious installation.
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I had expected some idealized, and expensive, vintage-inspired clothes at A.Presse. The label’s lux-ified work wear — think silk trucker jackets and goat-hide blazers — has made it one of the most closely watched in men’s wear. (It showed in a maison overlooking the Place des Vosges, a reflection of its growing stature.) Still, I wasn’t prepared for the audacity of an all-leather pullover shaped exactly like a Patagonia Retro-X fleece. The price: $5,600.
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Rejected furs, plucked from Italian factories, made up the bulk of the second runway show from 424, Guillermo Andrade’s little-engine-that-could label. “Luxury houses won’t use them because they’re not perfect,” Mr. Andrade said backstage. He pointed to a caramel brown jacket made of possum. “Dior wouldn’t be caught dead using possum,” he said. “But look how beautiful it is.” He had a point.
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The higher the heels … I’ve been seeing a lot of boots with stacked Cuban heels. First at Prada, then 424. Some shoes at Louis Vuitton also had height to them. If you could use a couple inches (like 5-foot-9 me!), maybe not the worst idea.
The Indelible Fit of the Day
Bold statement alert: No men’s designer working today uses color better than Ryota Iwai of Auralee. I was smitten by the way the white shirt and pants serve as a blank canvas in this look, making space for that blueberry duffle coat and purple scarf, while the black shoes grounded the color up top. The whole show is a “you must take note of this” class on how to weave color into your wardrobe.
“I had dreams of starting my own clothing brand, and I’m just here to learn. I’m at the student stage.”
— Kai Cenat, the most subscribed Twitch streamer in the world, attending his first Paris fashion show at the Palais de Tokyo. He held a notebook, ready to take down ideas.
Jacob Gallagher is a Times reporter covering fashion and style.
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