Tranoi (21-23 June) closed the doors to its most recent edition – Paris Fashion Week Men’s SS20 – on Sunday night. The fair was held yet again in the spectacular setting of Palais de la Bourse in Paris’ 2nd arrondissement. New and established brands, catering for both men and women, were showcased on the same floor under a soaring ceiling studded with enormous globe lights – a corporate tradeshow venue this is not.
The mood was upbeat when doors opened on the first day, if initially a little thin on visitors – attendee numbers tended to ebb and flow as the men’s show schedule was in full swing during the three-day event.
The partnership between The British Fashion Council (BFC) and Tranoi Week (20-25 June) continues. This season, the BFC brought designers including Bethany Williams, Charles Jeffrey Loverboy, Per Götesson and Bianca Saunders to show portions of their SS20 collections as part of London Show Rooms Paris. Held within a bright but intimate setting at 22 Rue de la Roquette in the 11th arrondissement, this was a definite highlight brimming with the best creative talent from the other side of the Euro tunnel.
Here, a handful of notable collections and new labels to keep an eye on:
Self Cinema
Self Cinema is a new Stockholm-based label founded in January 2019 by experienced industry figures Samuel Thomas, ex head of denim at Acne Studios, and Anthony Rock, who worked at the same fashion house as a production manager. The duo’s denim-led SS20 collection serves up a handful of clean, Scandi-style fits for men and women, crafted using sustainable Isko denim extensively, along with ozone and laser finishes and recycled rivets and buttons. Self Cinema’s premiere offering also encompasses pieces such as updated cotton Bretons and a couple of excellent denim jackets – slightly shrunken in style and featuring studwork or simply a set of good pockets, such as the example shown here.
Meus
French menswear newcomer Meus was founded at the end of 2018, making its tradeshow debut at Tranoi. Co-founders Benoit Martin and Sébastien Plaetevoet create relaxed and elegant pieces, infused with a pinch of “romanticism” – a recipe translating into drawstring trousers and sweatshirts with embroideries, such as the garment pictured. The SS20 color palette is soft – think sage green, nude pink and muted caramel. Matching cotton tees and underwear is available in every color, creating something of a fuss-free capsule wardrobe.
Maison Monarch
The premise of freshly hatched men’s and women’s label Maison Monarch is to mimic the globetrotting ways of the Monarch butterfly. Extending well beyond its French roots, the label incorporates different ethic influences to create elevated casualwear pieces. African-print Dutch wax cotton featured as a contrast material on hoodies, for instance.
Tatarou
Artisanal footwear brand Tatarou, founded in 2002, exhibited at Tranoi for the first time. Shoes are handmade by founder and designer Ryuta, and a number of the styles he brought to Paris had been crafted using a single-piece upper. In keeping with Tatarou’s sustainable ethos, the mushy green linen used for this pair is made from vintage laundry bags.
Bethany Williams
The wares of community activist and fashion wunderkind Bethany Williams – recipient of numerous awards including the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design 2019 – was displayed front and center as you entered London Showrooms Paris at Tranoi Week. This jumpsuit, crafted from recycled jeans and hand-painted in London, illustrates how the lauded designer uses existing resources to create sustainable pieces with a contemporary sensibility and soul. All profits from the sales of the collection will be donated to Spires, a London-based charity supporting homeless and disadvantaged people.
Per Götesson
Per Götesson was among the notable emerging talents exhibiting at London Showrooms Paris this season. The experimental denim creations with which the Swedish-born designer wowed the industry when graduating from London’s Royal College of Art in 2016 still form part of his offering. The SS20 collection is designed in the vein of "radical, romantic masculinity", resulting in a broad spectrum of denim innovations – from oversized and asymmetrically draped garments to more body-hugging fits, such as these compelling, 3D-cut pairs with an exposed zip-fly and curvilinear front-pockets.
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