The China Mail - Saint Laurent, Vuitton kick off Paris men's fashion week

Saint Laurent kicked things off with a playful, spring-summer 2026 collection mixing shorts with strong shoulder pads, and rolled-up darted trousers with loose trench coats nonchalantly tied at the waist.

Shorts, evoking those worn by the label's founder, Yves Saint Laurent, in his youth, were paired with bright and loose long-sleeved shirts and finished off with oversized sunglasses.

The show marked Saint Laurent's official return to the fashion week fold after a two-and-a-half-year absence from the Paris men's fashion official calendar.

Heads have been rolling across much of the luxury industry as bumper profits have evaporated, with brands grappling with a reduced appetite for luxury products.

Saint Laurent's parent group Kering is no exception, with falling sales last year wiping 28 percent off its share price since the turn of the year.

But shares shot back up 12 percent last week after former Renault boss Luca de Meo was named as Kering's new chief executive.

Fashion buyer Alice Feillard of Galeries Lafayette, Europe's biggest department store chain, said the return of Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello to men's fashion week was "rather a good thing", and would help reinforce the label's men's line.

- VIP-studded show -

Festivities continued Tuesday night in front of the Pompidou Centre modern art museum with Louis Vuitton artistic director Pharrell Williams hosting a VIP-studded event before the architectural icon closes for a major overhaul.

The US singer and producer who got the world dancing to his infectious hit "Happy", unveiled a quieter palette of earth tones, dusky pinks and rich browns, under the watchful eyes of US superstar Beyonce, music producer Jay-Z and film director Spike Lee.

In a nod to the past, models wore shorts, and flared or cargo pants, paired with short-sleeved, unbuttoned shirts layered over retro white t-shirts.

Models pushed large leather trunks adorned with a cartoonish safari print down the catwalk, echoing the fashion house's roots in luxury travel.

Also at the show were US basketball legend LeBron James and San Antonio Spurs star Victor "Wemby" Wembanyama from France, both ambassadors for the brand.

- Beachwear twist -

Founded in 2015 by Ryota Iwai, the Tokyo-based clothing brand -- known for its meticulously crafted fabrics -- revisited its traditional urban roots with a summery, beachwear twist.

In the courtyard of Paris's Archives National, swimsuits, bucket hats and flip flops sat alongside light cashmere poplin suits, soft leather and light calf hair garments.

"There's a term in Japanese which means the winds of spring," Iwai said after the show, describing the mixture of blue skies and strong winds that inspired this collection.

"In the same scene you'll have someone ready to go to the beach but then you'll have someone in a down jacket. That kind of odd balance is interesting," he said.

- Anderson's Dior debut -

The packed six days of Paris shows are in stark contrast to London -- which cancelled its men's shows completely -- and the rather thinned-out line-up in Milan last week.

The French capital will see a "rather dense programme with big headliners including Jonathan Anderson", who will be making his highly anticipated debut at Dior on Friday, said Adrien Communier of French GQ magazine.

The Northern Irish designer is the first to oversee the men's, women's and haute couture lines at the fabled French house since its founder, Christian Dior.

In all, some 70 brands will unveil their latest looks across 40 runway shows and 30 presentations that end late Sunday with the French label Jacquemus.

Anderson, the son of former Irish rugby captain Willie Anderson, had previously turned around the rather fusty Spanish house Loewe. He was named as the head of Dior's women's collection earlier this month, replacing the Italian Maria Grazia Chiuri.

B.Clarke--ThChM