SINGAPORE (Feb 4): Suits in a wide range of styles made a major comeback on the runways for the 2019/2020 fall-winter season. Here’s a look at three of the main menswear trends that were featured on the catwalks of London, Milan and Paris.

Cocooning spirit

The trend for wrapping up in a wandering vestimentary cocoon is no longer confined to womenswear. Designers have chosen to bundle up the modern man in warm, wide-cut pieces, offering ample protection from the cold. Along with leather jackets and long overcoats, streetwear-inspired oversized quilted coats were on view in several shows. Off-White (main image, right), Ermenegildo Zegna (main image, centre) and Louis Vuitton figured large among the proponents of this new type of anorak, while Dries Van Noten presented shorter puffer jackets that wrap around the male figure. Some fashion houses — notably menswear label Sunnei (main image, left) — also unveiled ultra-long scarves in a further iteration of the cocooning spirit.

No hiding the hide

With a welter of cheetah, panther, leopard, and snakeskin looks, animal prints ruled the roost in shows in London, Milan and Paris. Several fashion houses, notably Celine (right), made use of animalprint motifs to add a wild touch to their suits and overcoats, while others, such as Versace (left) and Marni, mixed animal prints and flashy colours. Animal-skin prints, albeit ultra-sober ones, were also a feature of the Dior show.

Suits galore!

Perfectly cut, reworked in sportswear or streetwear looks, or completely deconstructed, suits were a mainstay of several runway shows in London, Milan and Paris. Those in the French capital notably paid homage to the art of tailoring, with numerous models for the modern urban man. Hermès, Dolce & Gabbana (centre), Berluti (right) and Dior Homme (left) placed particular emphasis on suits for the season, Louis Vuitton reinterpreted them in a streetwear spirit, and Thom Browne deconstructed them to create pieces inspired by women’s fashions, but menswear they remained. 

This article appeared in Issue 867 (Feb 4) of The Edge Singapore.

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