Ceramic cats, objects d’art and a designer bows out at Paris Fashion Week Men’s

Paris Fashion Week Men’s has come to a close, ending the display of spring/summer 2025 shows.

While there may barely be time to draw breath before we launch into haute couture runway shows, it is worth taking stock of some of the exquisite clothes that have been shown by the likes of Dior Men, Loewe and Hermes over the past few days.

Dior Men

“I just know that something good is gonna happen,” sang Kate Bush, on repeat, at the Dior Men spring/summer 2025 show. Her uplifting song Cloudbusting providing the soundtrack for the presentation of a collection that looked to the work of South African ceramic artist Hylton Nel.

Nel’s work has a whimsical, Lewis Carroll-edge, as seen through giant ceramic cats standing vigil on the runway. These works were echoed through Dior Men’s artistic director Kim Jones’s collection as smaller versions of the statues were clutched by some of the models, while his drawings were displayed across tops and jumpers.

The collection was filled with breezy summer suits and shorts in mid-blue and oatmeal, mushroom-toned wide-legged trousers worn with wrap skirts, pale pink zipped jackets and knitted tank tops emblazoned with Nels artwork. There were long coats in bitter chocolate brown, while a touch of softness appeared as beaded and embellished scarves draped around a few shoulders, mixed with simple cloche hats – with delightful beaded rims – and heavy light tan boots.

Loewe

If Dior went big with art, then Loewe went small, placing modest sculptures along its runway, including an original chair by the Scottish architect Charles Rennie Macintosh.

The objects framed a collection that spoke of movement, with wires sewn into hems and necklines to hold edges as if caught in the wind. Creative director Jonathan Anderson, who also helms his eponymous label, JW Anderson, had some models wear long pheasant feathers, which swayed with every step.

Some necklines were crumpled around the jawline, and Derby shoes were elongated to extreme levels. Trousers too underwent a transformation, starting out as slim and tailored, before shifting into extra baggy and held together on one hip.

Hermes

As ever, Hermes stayed close to its mantra of trendless dressing, a methodology increasingly embraced by other houses. Hermes delivered a light-as-air masterclass on how to dress for a summer on the yacht, for hanging out in St Tropez and for evenings spent in fabulous eateries.

This polished nonchalance was seen through trousers cropped at a precise length at the ankle, shirts cut for an exacting volume, and jackets and coats packed with technical marvels.

Dries Van Noten

As the farewell show from the eponymous designer, who is bowing out after 38 years, we all knew Dries Van Noten would deliver something memorable. Known for his deft skill at mixing patterns and colours with a touch so light it always looks like things have always been paired this way, typically Van Noten choose to buck the trend for final shows, with a collection that looked forward, not back.

Centred around gleaming, molten metallics and shown on a runway covered in crushed tin foil, looks in gold and silver shimmered past, interspersed with high gloss satin, and shiny, sheer layers. Utility jackets in army green had brass emblems stitched around the shoulders while roomy tops and shorts were cut from what could have been ultra-light silver mesh.

Filled with light, colour and just a handful of patterns, this final co-ed show was a visual delight and a perfect note for Van Noten to bow out on.

Updated: June 23, 2024, 12:30 PM