What went down at Paris Fashion Week Men’s AW25

Paris Fashion Week Men’s always acts as a precursor for what’s to come. As we’re sitting on our hands waiting for the four capitals to show their womenswear cards, the men’s shows indicate the styles and trends we’ll be borrowing from the boys. It sets the tone for the year and gets us in the mood for the next few weeks of mind-bending couture and otherworldly women’s shows.

Without further ado, here’s what you might have missed from another top-notch PFW. You’re welcome.

Willy Chavarria has remained a permanent fixture on the New York fashion schedule – that is until he wasn’t. For AW25, the American designer hopped across the pond to unveil his ready-to-wear collection and, as always, made community the focal point.

Although right in the middle of the 8^th arrondissement, Chavarria managed to usher in a stellar line-up of US talent eager to see the show from Gabbriette to Da’Vine Joy Randolph and a blunt-smoking Ty Dolla $ign.

Imagine if the Met Gala was a runway show held in Paris, with your ideal blunt rotation situated around you. J Balvin was one of the first starry names to strut down the aisle, followed by Kai Isaiah-Jamal, Paloma Elsesser, Alva Claire and Honey Dijon in numerous pinstripe separates and form-fitting, ankle-sweeping dresses. A brief intermission came by way of a J Balvin performance, and the vibe shifted as shirtless models – street casting took place in Paris – pounded the runway in Adidas x Chavarria basketball shorts and bomber jackets.

Days after Trump curtailed DEI policies and denounced anything other than two sexes, 2024’s CFDA Menswear Designer of the Year chose the now-famous sermon by Bishop Mariann Budde to close out the show, urging the US president to ​“have mercy” on LGBTQ+ people. Standing united is more potent than anything else – and where best to demonstrate that than on a Chavarria runway?

With the recent announcement that Kendrick Lamar will sartorially unite with Chavarria for his upcoming Super Bowl performance, the Californian designer is proving to be an unstoppable force this year.

Last summer’s Dior men’s SS25 show featured giant cat-shaped statues that dwarfed guests and paid homage to South African ceramicist Hylton Nel. This season, Jones opted for a complete 180.

A FROW of Kate Moss, Robert Pattinson, Jeremy O. Harris, Kieran Culkin and Gwendoline Christie looked on as a first blindfolded model swanned past them. Wearing an airy shirt and a well-cut skirt with buttons along the back, this was a lesson in less is more. Blindfolded models followed in slate-grey cigarette trousers, embellished coats, high-collar jackets that looked rain-pelted, embellished trainers and ever-constant-highlight Dior saddle clutches.

Perhaps the scaled-back clothing and modest set – models walked down a white stairway, zipped down the runway and then retreated down another staircase – was Jones offering a reset. Either way, it was quintessentially Dior and harked back to the early days of the atelier. 10/​10.

Rick Owens, ever the pioneer, decided his footwear needed a revamp. He’s continually fed us with his much-loved lucite Kiss boots, but Owens must have felt in a giving mood, and, for that, we thank him. The result? Feathered boots, made in collaboration with Victor Clavelly, that will get caught on every/​any nearby surface but send your clout points off the charts.

There were more fancy feet to be seen at Kiko Kostadinov’s show, where models in tabi trainers – another knockout ASICS collab between the pair – wadded through leaves in technical garb and manipulated outerwear.

If the Rick Owens x Victor Clavelly and Kiko x Asics link-ups weren’t enough, Pharrell and Nigo, himself artistic director of Kenzo, showed us exactly what a decades-long friendship looked like on the Louis Vuitton catwalk.

The pair worked on a collection that spoke to contemporary trends – the ​“damoflage” Pharrell introduced at his debut show was displayed across suits, followed by monogrammed speedy bags and trunks, denim co-ord sets and varsity jackets. Bezzie mates (the pair famously founded Billionaire Boys Club together) just running around Paris, making clothing for luxury storied houses. The dream, eh?

The best part, however, came after the finale, when guests could get up close with the duo’s personal archives. Billionaire Boys Club trunks, Pharrell’s feathered helmet from N.E.R.D.’s Nothing artwork, and an exclusive LV x Supreme vermilion bomber were just a few of the various goodies encased in glass shelves and available to purchase via Joopiter.

Over at Kenzo, Nigo caught the collab bug and called on his buddy, American artist Futura 2000, to make bombers and denim in his signature iconography. Other highlights: bouquets in overspilling totes and a baguette attached to the back of a striped jacket. When in France.

We dubbed 2024 the ​“year of vibes” and nowhere was that more present than on the core-laden Paris runways. The ​“everyday man” was catered to at the Junya Watanabe show, where Lumberjack-core was rife – think multi-pocketed checked jackets, upturned dark-wash denim and lace-up boots. Elsewhere, Ami’s elegant offering featured suited-and-booted men in crisp horizontal striped shirts with neckerchiefs and slouchy trousers – very norm-core for the Parisian brand.

Picking apart your wardrobe is out, and picking up last night’s jeans off the floor, and popping on the nearest clean polo or plaid Junya shirt is the vibe. Our opinion? Instinctive dressing for the win.