FRANCO FRONTS GUCCI

JAMES FRANCO FOR GUCCI EYEWEAR

After decades of anonymous playboys, men's fragrances have caught on to what had seemed a women's only phenomenon and are enlisting an army of actors. A star studded cast that would make any Hollywood producer green with envy. Now, in a similar vein, The James-Deanian James Franco, who fronted the brand for Gucci by Gucci for Men when his star was rising, has again loaned some of his stardust for Gucci's latest campaign, a nod to the brands heritage bamboo aviator frames. Shot by mavericks Mert & Marcus the dressed-down campaign is calmly set in Hollywood with Franco in a relaxed stonewash denim shirt driving an aptly vintage red convertible. Gucci bamboo sunglasses available from October.  

gucci.com

Photography © Mert Alas and Marcus OPiggot

FANTASTIC MAN: THE ROUND UP

SPRING 2014 MENSWEAR x FANTASTIC MAN

1. NEW FASHION'S!, CRAIG GREEN, 17TH JUNE 2013

2. WEARING J.W. ANDERSON, 18TH JUNE 2013

3. SHORT IDEAS, JIL SANDER, 24TH JUNE 2013

4. EXCITING SHOES, RAF SIMONS, 1ST JULY 2013

5. THE MONOCHROME LOOK, LANVIN, 2ND JULY 2013

fantasticman.com

Source: FANTASTIC MAN, The Daily Recommendation 

SIR PAUL SMITH: A NEW DANDY

PAUL SMITH SPRING 2014 MENSWEAR

Sir Paul Smith means business, only not at Westminster. From the outset, a muted pastel pink sports coat hemmed in beige set a playfully androgynous tone. It’s this hybrid of suiting and luxe sportswear that has set Sir Paul apart from his peers of late. That and his knack for the Savile Row trade. Pointing to a methodical use of superfine wools and polished cottons responsible for the easy veneer of luxury, Sir Paul aggressed the East meets West London subcultures, coining a new breed of dandy. Mellow-yellow headlined a sublime canvas of pastel beige, fuchsia and deep maroon offset by black, tonal euphoria. Interestingly, a mushroom print became a recurrent motif, make of that what you will. The Paul Smith man resides, comfortably, in a strange and beautiful space. 

paulsmith.co.uk

Photography © Yannis Viamos, GoRunway

DIOR HOMME: MONDRIAN STYLE

DIOR HOMME SPRING 2014 MENSWEAR


Under the burning lights of a mirrored labyrinth a geometric star is born. Kris Van Assche’s elitist collective was a reckoning of sorts, formal discipline meets liberal Mondrian fantasy. Tactile paneling in monochromatic shades fashioned a representation of Piet Mondrian’s later work. The menswear revolutionary, working almost exclusively from a base palette of muted blues with accents of burgundy and shiny black, produced sleek lines and perfect symmetry, underpinning the seamless constitution for tailoring we’ve come to expect from Van Assche. Van Assche, who pioneered slim-line men’s silhouettes in his earlier career at Yves Saint Laurent, poked fun at his masterclass in suit separates applying the brush of modernism to every facet of the dialogue, side-part models in tow.  

dior.com

Photography © Jason Lloyd Evans

VERONIQUE NICHANIAN x HERMES

HERMES SPRING 2014 MENSWEAR

Hermes is, for the most part, unrivaled in the fight for the top spot in the luxury field, just don’t tell Marc or Karl. Veronique Nichanian has quietly been watching over the Hermes man for over two decades, twenty five years to be exact. For him, the designer sets a course of distinction pairing classic men’s silhouettes with a brazen understudy of the masculine form. Cut from ultra-luxe materials and high-grade skins, a resounding footnote of the brand across lines, Nichanian proposes an architectural simplicity in her genre of menswear, a boyish air. On that note, loose fitting cottons and brushed linens off-set humble white t-shirts to make for a leisurely vein of continuity, a wearable one at that. One of Veronique Nichanian's journalist friends told her, "In the clothes you design, I can be a husband, a lover, a father. You give us many lives."

hermes.com

Photography © Marcus Tondo, GoRunway

CERRUTI 1881: A VISUAL ESSAY

CERRUTI 1881 SPRING 2013 MENSWEAR

cerruti.com

Photography © Jason Lloyd Evans

DRIES VAN NOTEN: MAN VS. FLORAL

DRIES VAN NOTEN: PRET-A-PORTER HOMMES PRINTEMPS-ETE 2014

Dries Van Noten is a designer who's dexterity surpasses most. Responsible for the deconstructed plaid movement and winning over fashions brat-pack with his Spring 2013 ready-to-wear line, Van Noten today underpinned his investigation of the masculine vs. feminine engagement in the reverse order, with musings taken direct from his womenswear. Van Noten's diffusion of gender politics reached Wuthering Heights while his congruent faculties of print, texture and cutting of cloth served as inroads to Van Noten's masterclass in eclecticism. Hedged in a print-garden of draping, sheer fabrics, paper-bag waists and luxurious smoking gowns, Van Noten's brand of masculinity is reserved for only the manliest of men. And how the dandies will oscillate in their finery. Remarkable. Irreverent. Dries.

driesvannoten.be

Photography © Yannis Vlamos, GoRunway