Rei Kawakubo redefines men's suits with radical designs at Paris Fashion Week
PARIS (AP) — Rei Kawakubo, the ever-restless force behind Comme des Garçons, delivered a characteristically unpredictable twist on men's tailoring, dismantling the traditional suit and remaking it in her own radical image.
Titled 'Not Suits, But Suits,' the
Paris Fashion Week
show had models striding through a packed, overheated concrete venue Friday evening in looks that both nodded to and defied the idea of formalwear.
Classic suit elements, jackets, lapels, pressed trousers, were reimagined with sharp, architectural interventions: bulging hips, layered or panniered silhouettes, and unexpected splashes of color.
Some jackets appeared as if spliced apart and reassembled, while skinny pants revealed hidden panels and bursts of pattern through carefully placed zippers.
Layering abounded, with cropped jackets stacked over pleated shirting, kilts and shorts. Knitwear was shredded and reconstructed, echoing a sense of disorder within the tailored frame. Accessories pushed the eccentricity further — models wore oversized, multi-brimmed caps crafted from suiting fabrics, paired with long braided wigs and formal shoes.
The collection evoked the need for something transformative in unsettled times. Its atmosphere only heightened the collection's message: in Kawakubo's world, the suit is not a uniform of conformity but a canvas for disruption.
As guests spilled out into the night, applause rang out for a designer who continues to turn fashion's certainties inside out.
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At Hermès, even the discreet luxury of woven leather tees and wide trousers took on new meaning as athletes and music stars documented their attendance. Their posts quickly turn exclusive details into mass-market 'must-haves.' Shein and Temu, the global fast-fashion juggernauts, have weaponized the viral moment — turning celebrity sightings into shoppable trends worldwide, sometimes in a matter of hours. The result: What debuts on the Paris catwalk can show up in online shopping carts from Atlanta to Addis Ababa almost instantly. Beneath the celebrity glow, classic trends endure. Streetwear is still king, with oversized silhouettes, soft tailoring and activewear influences everywhere from Dior to Dolce & Gabbana. The Hermès 'cool city guy' and Dolce's pajama dressing — rumpled but rich — are direct answers to how men want to live and move now. But even these trends go mainstream through star power, not just design. The models might debut the look, but it's the front-row faces who make it stick. The celebrity ascendancy isn't just a front-row phenomenon — it's woven into the industry itself. When LVMH 's Bernard Arnault tapped Williams, a global pop icon, to lead Louis Vuitton menswear in 2023, it wasn't just a creative risk. It was a declaration that celebrity now runs the show. All this spectacle reflects a bigger shift. Fashion isn't just about what's in — it's about who's in the room, and who's watching. At Armani in Milan, at Saint Laurent in Paris, at every show, a galaxy of K-pop, Hollywood, and music stars now drive the narrative. For Gen Z and Alpha, the runway is no longer about aspiration — it's about participation, sharing, and living in the moment. The 'show' has become the product. In 2025, the hottest look in men's fashion isn't a garment — it's the spectacle. In the world's most-watched runway season, celebrity is the new couture, and every scroll puts you in the front row.
