Men's fashion gets hot under the collar

Peering into the near future, the designers at the Paris and Milan menswear shows imagined a range of superheated environments populated with intrepid explorers, messengers and itinerant soldiers. As sweltering audience members fanned themselves with their invitations and bitched about the overwhelming absence of, ahem, free bottled water, the looks breezing down the runways seemed loose, cool and easy; perfect gear for braving long, sweaty summers.

FOREIGN PARTS
Many collections reflected sun-drenched landscapes, with bleached colours and exotic prints. At Issey Miyake, Dai Fujiwara looked to Turkey for his mosaic-style applique blazers and geometric textiles, while Dries Van Noten impressed with clashing patterns and quirky silhouettes, conceived as a face-off between Tokyo and Calcutta. John Galliano's seasonal muse, Napoleon, was imagined striding through southern Spain and Egypt, while in Milan, Versace gave us Foreign Legionnaires (improbable weapon of choice: dinky clutch bag) and the tanned cowboys at D&G looked nicely roasted in distressed denim ensembles.

At Givenchy, Riccardo "obsessed with Morocco" Tisci showed a collection modelled by street-cast boys that had something for everyone, from super-dressy all-white suits to punky star-studded tartan trousers and top-to-toe, slightly Roman prints.

WHITE PLACE, WHITE TIME
Naturally, in the face of all this hot weather, designers were fielding a lot of bright, reflective whites. Raf Simons at Jil Sander was the main contender here, showing a number of all white ensembles that seemed sterilised and hospital clean, a look that was emphasised by surgeon-like, thigh-length coats and uniform bowl haircuts.

The Gucci menswear collection explored a different side of the shade, featuring a series of flashy, yacht-tastic white suits with matching loafers, set off by loud flashes of colour and bold power dressing prints. Bruno Pieters at Hugo Boss played similarly, with white as a statement colour, using it in blocks to contrast with bright reds and pale blues, and in monochrome ensembles that looked angular and futuristic, particularly in the cropped jackets with polygonal hemlines.

Fresh, light whites were also a mainstay of collections from Ann Demeulemeester, who dressed her models in billowing white dressing gowns, and Junya Watanabe, whose show ended with a parade of dandies in white shirts, matching shorts and contrasting patterned scarves.

SEE THROUGH IT ALL
Kris Van Assche's collection for Dior Homme, one of his best to date, incorporated translucent linen mix jackets and high-sheen, thin outerwear in a palette that was very soft for Dior. The slightly tapered trousers and semi-opaque layers made for a collection which suggested there is elegance beyond Dior Homme's past of androgynous teens and stick-figure volumes. Good news for crotches everywhere.

LOOSE YOURSELF
Though bagginess has had its day and bootcut remains a dirty word (it's all about a smartly tapered ankle this season), there was an overwhelming feeling of roominess to the men's collections. Missoni set the agenda in Milan with oversized knits, rolled up pleated trousers and voluminous outerwear with a humble slope to the shoulders, suggesting a luxury that was unfussy, languorous and comfortable.

Similarly at Hermes, knits (in navy, white and apple green) were wide-necked and oversized while the simple leather trench coat was cut straight for a slouchy silhouette.

Dolce & Gabbana also showed some big knits, including that staple of every man's wardrobe, the sparkly dressing gown. But the real king of the swingers was Stefano Pilati at Yves Saint Laurent, whose collection of louche, romantic silhouettes was once again among the highlights of the season.

DISTRESS CODE
A casual, worn-out brand of luxury was created on many other runways through distressed and crumpled fabrics. Miharayasuhiro, whose collection was inspired by Antoine de Saint-Exupery's Le Petit Prince, imagined clothes weathered by days spent in the desert, with wrinkled fabrics for outerwear and tees puckered with holes. This contrasted nicely with the cosmological references of the collection - bright, sparkly shirts and knits that were inspired by space travel and iridescent stars.

Wrinkles were also evident in the dark suiting fabrics at Burberry Prorsum, the rippling linen jackets and denims at Issey Miyake and washed leather jackets at Yamamoto and Pringle. Alexander McQueen showed clothes trashed by splotches of paint, particularly provocatively on a pair of trousers stained with handprints on the fly.

SHOULDERS OF GIANTS
There has been a focus on the shoulders in recent womenswear collections, and it looks like menswear is to follow suit. Yohji Yamamoto fielded some enormous shoulder pads in his collection, which with its oversized silhouettes, beautifully tactile materials and subtle contrasting facings, was a soft, attractively straightforward take on classic Yamamoto ideas. The supremely relaxed Cerutti collection brought shoulder seams down along the arm for a rounded silhouette, while the menswear at Balenciaga continued to play with curved shapes from the couture house's archives. Paul Helber's collection for Louis Vuitton (which he described as "an active, dynamic silhouette ... elegant but roughened up a bit") riffed ingeniously on shoulder decoration, with sporty zip-up boleros and protruding shoulder attachments on bomber jackets, all in a refreshingly fluorescent palette (bright orange and yellow with metallic and oil slick textures) inspired by the bike couriers of New York City.

- INDEPENDENT