Paris Day 2: Variations on a Minimal Theme

GIVENCHY, LOOK 19; RICK OWENS, LOOK 7; YSL, LOOK 25

Minimalism was back (had it ever left?) for day two of Paris men’s week. Slender, elongated silhouettes ruled the runways all day. Riccardo Tisci headed for the hills at Givenchy, sending many a modern-day monastic down the runway in bib-fronted shirts, ultra-slim pants and patent monk sandals. In a literal twist, the lord’s Crown of Thorns was reinvented into sharp golden neckpieces. There were sandals—thankfully not of the Roman or gladiator style. The urge to pare down was also evident at Yves Saint Laurent, although in some cases stripped down looked samurai by way of the bedroom. Pilati seemed to peel back any of last season’s debonair, masculine edge, leaving us with fluid gray and black pieces which hung so effortlessly on the body that they were barely even fastened. Even Rick Owens kept it long and lean, melding his signature hyper-angled shoulders into an almost serenely extraterrestrial collection of knits, nylon and skins.

SEE ALL OF INTERVIEW’S FALL/WINTER 2010 MENS COVERAGE FROM PARIS…