This collection landed like a shower of gold — and silver, and diamanté studs — in the middle of Paris Fashion Week. Nearly every inch of it glittered as models, with their greased-back hair and don’t-mess-with-me looks, slouched down the catwalk at L’Olympia, the oldest music hall in Paris.
The show was called “Boy Doll,” and boy did those models look precious in their gold suits, tinsel fringe ponchos, sequin-iced T-shirts and silvery hoodies.
Oversize, slouchy leather jackets, tailoring — and even a trenchcoat — glittered with shiny studs, while the stripes on a boxy suit, or down the sides of trousers, twinkled like stars.
Hedi Slimane was clearly in a retro mood: The historic venue originally opened in 1893, and later hosted singers such as Juliette Gréco, Serge Gainsbourg, Billie Holiday, The Beatles and David Bowie.
The music was by ShitKid, a Swedish punk star, while many of the looks had ’50s flair, with lots of denim and leather James Dean-ish combinations, or over-the-top, feathered and fringed, old-fashioned diva clothing.
There was a real element of excitement (despite this being a digital show) because the clothes were so extreme, so opulent. There was even original artwork: The white horses on the leather jackets were done by the American artist Banks Violette, whom Slimane met nearly two decades ago in New York.
While that sparkly gold ingot suit, and the long silver hoodie, bright as a disco ball, might only really work on stage or screen, there was still so much everyday glamour on offer.
Who doesn’t want to pair their frayed denim with a sequin T-shirt, or dress like Dolly Parton with a little tinsel-y fringe strung here and there? Why can’t it be Vegas every day of the week, even for men? It worked for Elvis.
