Wedge sneakers for men? Isabel Marant says yes. Having recently revived the love-them-or-hate-them, hit high-heeled sneakers that spawned six-month waiting lists and inspired a thousand knock-offs back in 2011, she’s run up a version for the boys—at the suggestion of her osteopath. “It’s true that for your back, the perfect heel height is 5.5cm. I was amazed, but my osteo told me, ‘I am saying to my customers, you should buy Isabel Marant sneakers because they are the perfect height when you have back pain,’ ” she said, in a preview at her Paris HQ. “Also, I know a lot of tiny guys who love to be tall.”
The designer was wearing clogs herself—“not the most sexy things in life, but so easy to slip into”—with a navy sweater and baggy acid-wash jeans in a lightweight chambray denim. “I’m working every day on the floor, doing the fittings,” she shrugged, gesturing at her trousers. “I always notice, even if you have a very beautiful garment, if it’s not comfortable, you will always choose your oldest, most cozy sweatshirt to wear instead.” That resolutely practical streak influenced her fall menswear collection, which had grungy origins but came in luxe incarnations. A shearling coat in sunset hues was reimagined in a more casual sweatshirt shape; smart gray tweedy trousers came with an elasticated waist; and lumberjack checked shirts were rendered in super-soft brushed cotton. Equally useful was a reversible coat, checked wool on one side, waterproof khaki on the other.
And for the guys who don’t do heels—her “more conservative” brothers, for instance, one of whom is a journalist, while the other works in the art world—there are shearling-lined suede boots which pair neatly with zip-neck ribbed sweaters in a sophisticated shade of biscuit. “I always try to keep the doors open for different kinds of people,” she said. “This collection has a slightly grungy vibe but the garments are approachable for any kind of man.”
