Fashion is in a mood.
Gothic motifs cast a dark shadow over Fall/Winter 19-20 men’s collections. While goth crept into fashion week street style, latex, skulls and even bleeding hearts found a place on the runway.
In Paris, Comme des Garcons Homme Plus designer Rei Kawakubo took a ghoulish approach to rebellion. According to show notes, the inspiration for the season was to embrace the “beauty in the morbid,” which transpired into models sporting black nails, lips and charcoal rimmed eyes.
Whereas most men’s designers opted for laidback tailoring and loose silhouettes, Kawakubo cut a bold look with fetish mesh tops, fishnet tights, spiked footwear and religious scrawls printed on second-skin bottoms. Leather chaps, glittery dresses and crystal-embellished blazers and top coats added a glam rock feel to the show. Harnesses were a finishing touch.
Skeletal laser prints decorated Louis Gabriel Nouchi’s denim flight suit. United Standard presented cardigans with ghost-like faces, while Undercover based its collection on Stanley Kubrick’s “A Clockwork Orange,” complete with bloodied images of the film’s main character, Alex.
Frankenstein was Miuccia Prada’s muse for the men’s fall show. Prints of the monster were repeated throughout the collection, adding a bold pop of one of the year’s trending colors, slime green. Handcrafted knit hearts were safety pinned on lightening bold sweaters. Models plodded down the runway in footwear with tire-like tread and belts wound around waists in S&M fashion.
Both Moschino and Dolce & Gabbana served Dracula-level drama with men’s suiting. Black capes added a touch of danger to Dolce and Gabbana’s aristocratic tail coats. Moschino’s ode to Italian film director Federico Fellini resulted in suits with red sashes and trousers tied up with leather straps and buckles, and track suits lavishly embellished with fantastical, baroque skeletal motifs.
