Riccardo Tisci distilled some of his familiar obsessions — Americana, Latin culture, religion — into one of his most restrained, and chicest, men’s collections to date.
He stripped away the tribal jewelry and the man skirts and curbed his penchant for trompe l’oeil layers, without extinguishing the usual fashion fireworks. Swarthy models whisked through a circular path of 600 pillar candles (sourced from the supplier to the Archdiocese of Paris, no less) in a collection that — while mostly gray and black — still sparked with innovation.
Suits and topcoats were leanly cut and trimmed of lapels. They bristled with modernity and were subtly sensuous, especially in velvet. References to Robert Mapplethorpe’s lexicon were etched subtly, the line of harnesses reduced to minimalist vests over pristine shirts.
Tisci has been dabbing outerwear with leather — a trend now seen all over the market — since one of his first men’s collections. Here, black leather hugged the shoulders of handsome duffle coats, and paved the fronts of blousons, topcoats and blazers, a silver zipper tracing a line from collarbone to the hips.
It’s exhilarating to watch Tisci, not yet 40, evolve into a more mature, yet still exciting, fashion talent.