Paris menswear trend report: patchwork, pajama styling, palette update

The shows wrapped up in Paris this weekend, so we take a look at the top Spring-Summer 2015 menswear trends from the French capital.

Paris Menswear trend report
Panels and patchwork
Cut and paste fabrics were a key theme this season. Panel shirts and jackets popped up all over the place with pieces arriving in contrasting shades and fabrics. Kris Van Assche’s clever shirts with contrasting panels of orange plaid even had slots to hold the ties in place so the half and half effect wasn’t broken. Patchwork was another key theme with both Maison Martin Margiela and Junya Watanabe pulling together coats and jackets in a mix of blue fabrics.

Paris Menswear trend report
Pajama silks & prints
Louche rock ‘n’ roll silk pants and shirts were another big trend for the summer shows. Paul Smith went with navy tones for his version, pairing them with tuxedo jackets and colorful summer knits. At Dries Van Noten, the Belgian designer used pale gold, red, burgundy and navy and a Richard Haines illustration of a dancer to pay homage to Rudolf Nureyev. Valentino mined a similar theme with its grown-up pajama prints with tough florals and mythological scenes.

Paris Menswear trend report
Color
Despite the overwhelming predominance of classic menswear color palettes (think monochrome, grays, navy blues, deep browns and oranges) things were much brighter on the Paris runways than they were in Milan. Kenzo celebrated classic Parisian style but freshening things up with pastel pinks, oranges and sea foam green. At AMI Alexandre Mattiussi brightened up his navy blue and racing green collection with flashes of day-glo orange.