Your Sister’s Dress

A look from Junya Watanabe’s show in Paris.

The Paris men’s shows have started. Last evening, a beautiful Paris sort of evening, Mr. Alloux and I were on our way to Dries Van Noten’s show in the 15th, at the site of a former slaughter house for horses. Our destination prompted a culinary discussion (in my limited French) about the differences between horse and beef. Mr. Alloux said that horse meat was once a commonplace in France and that, in terms of taste, you could barely distinguish it from beef. He asked me if horse was ever popular in the States, and I replied that it may have been at one time in some places but that we Americans tended to keep Nelly in the barn.

Mr. Alloux gave a sympathetic nod. He then mentioned the name of another animal the French used to eat, but the word was unfamiliar to me.

Seeing my perplexed look, Mr. Alloux put his hands on his head and flapped them and emitted a kind of braying noise.

“Ah, a donkey!” I said, as if I’d won a game of charades.

I love how Mr. Alloux can explain the subtleties of French culture.

Van Noten had hired a man with a supply of vintage cars to bring about 100 to the outdoor site, so that the background for the show would be all white cars — Fords and Dodges, along with Fiats and at least one Rolls. “The fancy from lots of small details,” Van Noten said backstage, describing his idea of focusing on dapper men’s wear elements without spoiling the rest of the stew. There were lots of tie-print fabrics in blue, some kimono jackets and a white safari suit that had a wide belt somewhat high on the waist. It was an interesting, wearable collection but, on the whole, not a big statement.

Another piece from Junya Watanabe’s spring and summer 209 collection presented in Paris.

Junya Watanabe’s show this morning was adorable. It was American Rube all the way: jeans with gingham patches above the back pockets, straw farm hats and blazers in gingham. Innocence and comfort seemed to be the message. At least that’s what I took away from the show. Watanabe certainly makes some of the best jeans and khakis around.

Kanye West slipped into his seat at Comme des Garçons just before the show started. The traffic has been terrible today and he and his friends had to get out of their car and run for it. West has been hitting the shows with a guy whose outfit is fascinating. It consists of many boxy layers finished off with an athletic hood and a brimmed cap on top of it. With all the angles and colors, he looks vaguely Cubist.

The CdG collection was fantastic. There’s a lot of talk again about androgyny, and I suppose Rei Kawakubo’s cotton skirts, kilts and culottes layered over super skinny pants will be discussed in that vein. However, I found the whole concept at once romantic and cool. The proportions were close to the body; the materials were contemporary (mostly white or black cotton with some jersey), and the basics were masculine. It’s funny how something as simple as putting a pair of lean, knee-length black shorts over black skinny pants (with black sneakers) can make you look at it differently—and almost mentally erase the boy/girl thing. A few times she showed a black jacket layered over a ruffled black jersey tunic and black skinny pants. It made me think of a guy wearing one of his little sister’s dresses. It made perfect sense to me.