Vibrancy in the House of Ferragamo

The House of Ferragamo produced a very sheek collection. The tailoring was absolutely fantastic and there was a variety of colours to choose from. I loved the fact that they used a lot of peach and salmon with the normal beige and whites. I also loved the fact that they had ruffles on a few of their tops and a tie-dye type feel to the shirts. I also loved the fact that there were a few jumpers in the collection, which many designers are afraid to attempt in their mens' collection. Most importantly, I loved the fact that it was very tropical and would fit nicely with any female collection that came down the runway last year. These were outfits you could definitely go out to the office with and then out to dinner with. The one thing that I did not like about this collection was the fact that one of the models had a clutch purse. Anyone who reads this site knows how much I hate mens purses and astonish the fact that every designer seems to think that men would want such a feminine item. But this is the first time I've ever seen any fashion house be bold enough to make a clutch! Even the model that was sent with the purse didn't know how to hold up and ended up putting it under his armpit. He looked uncomfortable and just plain odd. I know that accessories are a huge part of the Ferragamo brand. In fact, Salvatore himself started his fashion house with shoes. But a male clutch is just ridiculous and not needed. Watch the runway show for yourself and tell me what you think about this certain accessory.

A knock out or knocked out at Givenchy

I didn't know what to make of Riccardo Tisci's collection for Givenchys men Spring/Summer '09. It seemed that they were outfit a boxer would wear from the 1920's. There was a lot of oversized tops and sleeveless shirts, which were fine, in fact they seemed very urban and youthful; the type of top you would normally see on people like 50 Cent or Eminem. My biggest problem had to be the pants. For some reason, Tisci kept sending down shorts that had men's tights underneath. The weirdest part were the shorts were above the knee while the tights were below the knee. I've seen a lot of clever forms of layering, but this collection took it to a whole new level - a level I don't think it should have gone to. If you completely judge this collection from the waist up, it was great. But from the waist down, it was a trainwreck. Watch the show for yourself and tell me what you think.

At home with Homme

Kris Van Assche's mens collection for Christian Dior, Spring/Summer '09 was quite interesting. I didn't know what to make of the 3D-looking glasses, but the rest of the clothes were actually pretty good. I like how some of the jackets and shirts had a shredded look to them as if the model was attacked by a blunt object. I liked the subtle leather pieces. I wasn't a fan of the fluorescent pinks and blues, I thought it was a bit of an overkill. The gold outfits I surprisingly liked. I thought it was very youthful and modern rock n roll. But most importantly, I loved the fact that Van Assche focused more on the detail and tailoring of the clothes. Watch the runway show below and see for yourself.

Bored with Boss

The new Hugo Boss collection for Spring/Summer 2009 left a lot to be desired. The clothes for the men and women were as basic as sportswear can get. I know Hugo Boss is a huge label in the male fashion community but these clothes didn't present any excitement for me. Most of the clothes were either black or white with a few blues thrown in. There was, however, an oriental feel to it. I don't know if it was the fact that there were tight turtlenecks resembling Chinese dresses. Basically if you want to look sleek then the Boss label is for you, but I prefer outfits that have more creativity. Watch the runway show below and judge for yourself.

Confused Cavalli

I don't know what Roberto Cavalli was thinking for his Spring/Summer Mens collection, but it was definitely a lot of thoughts. Like the Gucci collection, the clothes didn't seem to have a coherent flow to them. Some of them were baggy, and urban while others were preppy; the rest were Rock n Roll on acid. These clothes were weird, at best. Some of them were actually wearable and you could tell target a youth audience, but I must say I enjoyed his female clothes much more than the mens. Roberto needs to stop trying to be cool, instead making clothes that are sexy and tropical. Watch the runway show below and tell me if you're as confused as I am.

Back to the future with McQueen

Alexander's Spring/Summer Men's collection was very interesting. He's the type of designer that young, edgy, men would want to wear. The clothes were very sleek, and I liked the androgynous look. You couldn't really tell between the male and female models. The clothes were a mixture of futuristic/80's type clothes. All of the shoulder pads and square cuts were 80's, yet the patterns were very futuristic. Some of the outfits looked like an illusion and hurt the eyes. I love his mixing of colours together and some of the outfits looked like they had a hint of nudity, but it was a nude colour in between a black design outfit. I don't know what to make of this collection. One thing I liked about it was that it had a clear direction and was artistic; the other part of me thought it was similar to Rodarte's clothes. Watch the show and judge for yourself.

Unimpressed with Emporio

Georgio Armani's spring/summer 2009 collection left a lot to be desired. The whole show had the feel of the set of the 1980's show Miami Vice. At any point I thought Don Johnson was going to pop out of the runway with all his mullet glory. With all the jackets with t-shirts look, it was youthful but at times looked cliche. There were no vibrant colours, there was a lot of greys and blacks, but I must say fabulous tailoring. I liked the way he interpreted the leather jackets with criss-crossed zippering. I absolutely loved the vests that he created but that's where my favorites end. I absolutely despised the plastic looking shorts that he produced as well as the overly baggy evening pants that looked like they came straight from the Aladdin set. I understand that Armani wants to be young and cool with his designs, but the whole thing just screamed tacky. Armani should go back to what he's good at, sophisticated, corporate type of clothes that have become his staple. Watch the video below and tell me what you think.