I Dabble in Menswear

Menswear is foreign territory to me. In the years that I have been interested in fashion, I never cared for menswear. It just seems so limiting compared to womenswear. On the one hand, you could say that that is what makes it so interesting. When people are given little leeway, it forces them to create something new out of what they are given. There's really more challenge in menswear to be able to produce something fresh. I enjoy a lot of theatrics and drama in fashion, so I was never really drawn to menswear. However, through the maturation of my tastes, I have learned to enjoy more constructed and minimalist designs and so I thought I would finally check out the side of menswear (where I figured they relied heavily on tailoring and fit to improve a garment). (Who am I shitting? The reason I got into menswear was for the male models) (I am a fashion scholar, I do what I want!) I'm still a n00b at understanding and appreciating menswear and I can never form comprehensive critiques about the collections other than "I like it" and "Wow this blows"

But anyway, I still humor myself by looking at all the menswear collections! Some of my favorite designers do menswear too so I always like to see what they come up with. But then there are always those who only remind me how little I understand of this niche that is menswear. This season there were these:

Damn it I shouldn't have told all those chicks to watch me model!!

This needs no caption

Oh my god!!! Perfect outfit for our Lego Land x Astronaut cosplay!!

I'm Medusa's defective twin brother

I don't even fucking know what's happening man I'm just so scared

Prince and Lebron had a gayby

Biker snail

Uh the extravagance of my mustard cashmere juxtaposed with the garbage behind me is ART

Feel bad for this guy

In what planet would any of this work?

Remember Plank from Ed Edd and Eddy? He met Rick Owens

Why do even have to separate menswear from womenswear if they won't follow the norms???

This is the male equivalent of the alt girl look: gown + chuck taylors

Prince and Edward Scissorhands have a gayby

#fashin!!!!!

But in all seriousness (maybe not in ALL seriousness, it is fashion after all!) I do find some menswear collections to be thoroughly enjoyable! Not all of them befuddle me. This season, I enjoyed the quirky prints and textures inspired by John Waters from James Long. The stained glass print pieces from Alexander McQueen were  amusing, although sometimes I feel as if my bitterness towards Sarah Burton clouds my judgement. Maybe she's actually a good designer or maybe she sprung from the devil's asshole to destroy all that Lee worked his precious life for. Richard James showed a collection of posh suits and deep colored sweaters. It kind of has that aesthetic of a rich party Italian older guy who refuses to bang you in his Mercedes because he doesn't want to get stains on it. Lee Roach presented an almost monochrome collection (a few pieces were in very very dark blue). I always say this: I think boys look excellent in black. The few tiny buckles that permeate the pieces have become the centerpiece of the collection. That and the padded jackets are stellar. Contender for my favorite collection this season. Prada was good, but did not have an obvious theme unlike previous seasons where you would be able to identify the clothes as Prada when you see them worn. The knits and prints at Missoni are always great. Now that's a brand with an identity! Julien David showed a very cool collection with a streetwear flair. Givenchy was like 7th grade when everyone tied their jackets around their waists, but a billion times chicer with less zits and metal mouths. I apologize for this giant paragraph of nonsense, but it'y my attempt at critiquing menswear. Deserving of a mention is Hedi's return to menswear. I wasn't into high fashion when Hedi had his heyday so I can only take people's word for it when they say he was a genius in menswear. But after his blah debut for SLP (previously YSL) and his cookoo behavior, I find it hard to believe. I was still hoping to be proven wrong, but after the presentation of his first menswear collection for SLP, I stand by my opinion of him. I see his vision, because everything in the collection was so extremely cool: from the indie musician models to the music. I am very much attracted to the whole rocker aesthetic that permeates everything Hedi creates, so it puzzles me why I can't get behind his designs (although I found that I do like his work at Dior Homme) and his god damn photography style. But enough about disappointments! You're making the pirate sad!

Sad pirate :(

Ahh okay, enough jokes! I'm actually starting to love menswear more now that I see it's not just suits in different colors. The more ridiculous, the better, as I like to say. Obviously I've a long way to go before I can understand menswear. Remember when I was 13 and I used to think Roberto Cavalli was excellent? LOL. It takes time for people's tastes to mature and I just haven't gotten there yet with menswear! But it's so fun learning about something new! Maybe by 2014 this blog will be dedicated to three piece suits and Nick Wooster. We'll see!