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Loewe, Bode, Sacai and Hermès: Best shows from day 5 of Paris Fashion Week Men’s AW20

Audio and 10-word show reviews direct from Paris Fashion Week Men’s for autumn/winter 2020.

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Welcome back to the City of Lights. And welcome back to our succinct 10-word show reviews (if you want to dip and dash) or listen to our audio reviews (if you want to hear our full thoughts) on the best shows from Paris Fashion Week Men’s for the autumn/winter 2020 season.

Saddle up your fashion pony, kids. We’re bringing you our favourite looks, must-have accessories, and candid observations from the men’s runways—insights that you can only get from attending the show in person.

For the fifth day of Paris Fashion Week Men’s AW20, Loewe sent out pretty boys; Bode paraded American Boy Scouts; Sacai marched out the military; and Hermès appealed to the style investor.

LOEWE: PRETTY BOYS

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Designer: Jonathan Anderson
10-word show review: Suit-and-dress hybrids with bold peacocking headgear and strap-on leather skirts.

Favourite look: That baby blue shirt in look 18 featuring a silhouette of two geese (like a Rorschach test—what kind of bird do you see?), worn with a slim black tie tucked into black satin trousers, themselves tucked into patent leather boots, and the entire ensemble finished with a belted skirt made from looped chains of tan leather. A heady fusion of masculine and feminine tropes? Classic Jonathan Anderson.

Favourite accessory: Has to be those large elephant bags (looks 8, 20, 29 and 32), especially those with studded detailing (looks 6 and 22). Even the Loewe staff at the brand’s Rue Montaigne store were raving about them when we popped by the boutique post-show: “They are definitely going to sell well with our customers; Jonathan did a good job.”

Autumn/winter 2020 campaign star revealed: Jonathan Anderson has always blended masculine and feminine codes to present a fresh new take on fashion. So it was apt that he chose Megan Rapinoe, the American professional soccer player who has captained the US women’s national team to win gold at the 2012 London Olympics as well as the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, to be the face of the new autumn/winter 2020 campaign that has just been unveiled on billboards across Paris during fashion week.

“I always thought of the word ambiguity more in the sense of the unclear, or inexact. But in the true sense it means ‘open to more than one interpretation’,” says Rapinoe. “I am not trying to convey something in particular with facial expressions, only that we are always more than one thing at a particular time. I am fierce and bold but sensitive and quiet. I am confident while also needing reassurance from my loved ones. I believe I am conveying that I am a whole person who demands the space to be just myself, my whole self.  And you should too”.

BODE: UPCYCLED LUXURY

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Designer: Emily Bode
10-word show review: American Boy Scouts with Sufi community patchworks and souvenir charms.

Favourite look: The red corduroy set in look 24 that came plastered with dead stock souvenir and achievement patches from every decade of the 20th century, worn over a checked shirt, and accessorised with a leather necklace featuring a single hand-blown glass marble from the 1950s. Living proof that bold and beautiful fashion, as well as responsible and sustainable production, are not mutually exclusive.

Favourite accessory: Cast your eyes downwards and check out the first pair of shoes from Bode—the leather slip-ons as opposed to the gardening shoes created in partnership with Plasticana, the 100 percent recyclable hemp-based shoe from France. Named the ‘Bode Home Shoe’, it is inspired by comfortable domestic interiors but are designed to be worn outdoors. My favourites are the black leather versions punched with bronze Appenzeller Gurt charms (see looks 6 to 10 as an example).

SACAI: PUT A RING ON IT

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Designer: Chitose Abe
10-word show review: Deconstructed military wear accented with leopard prints and Nike shoes.

Favourite look: Hands down that full ensemble in look 20 of a blazer, trouser, shirt, and scarf all constructed from a tiered patchwork of aqua-coloured silk scarves. Undeniably artistic, conceptually brilliant, and a defiantly bold home run in our books.

Favourite accessory: The hypebeaster will be focused on the new Sacai x Nike Waffle Weave sneakers paraded on the runway, but my favourite accessory were those metal necklaces found around the neck of every model crafted from looped signet rings in either silver or golden hues. One part statement necklace; one part clever territory guarding. Why just put a ring on it when you can put a wreath of rings on it?

HERMÈS: SEPIA NIGHTS

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Designer: Véronique Nichanian
10-word show review: Hypnotic prints for the day, double-front suiting for the night.

Favourite look: If I didn’t live on the equator, it’d be that glorious knee-length leather coat in look 16 with a shearling collar and lining, all cast in a rich olive green, worn over a mock neck black top and tucked into ecru cotton drill trousers featuring a tightening adjuster at the hems. But because I do live in Singapore, it’s that chic-to-the-next-lev ebony DB in look 44 with a double front in a contrast wool and mohair canvas. If you haven’t already figured out (revisit our reviews of Dior, Berluti, Ami and Valentino), DBs are the fashion stock to invest in right now. But even when the bubble eventually bursts, this Hermès suit will continue to pay handsome dividends.

Favourite accessory: Thank you Jesus, Hermès has finally proposed a crossbody bag that’s actually designed for men. Gents are usually relegated to portfolios, clutches and totes. Want something with more panache? Then it’s over to women’s accessories we go. But come August 2020, we can now snap up a crossbody from Hermès in their signature soft Togo grained leather (see looks 5, 8 and 28) and go fashionably hands-free.

Related stories:

Day 1 of Paris Fashion Week Men’s AW20: Sankuanz and AMI
Day 2 of Paris Fashion Week Men's AW20: Off-White, JW Anderson and Valentino
Day 3 of Paris Fashion Week Men’s AW20: Givenchy, Homme Plissé Issey Miyake, Amiri, Louis Vuitton and Dries Van Noten
Day 4 of Paris Fashion Week Men's AW20: Berluti and Officine Générale
Day 4 of Paris Fashion Week Men's AW20: Dior Men
Day 6 of Paris Fashion Week Men's AW20: dunhill and Paul Smith

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