Lanvin Menswear Goes Stylishly Film Noir

PARIS, France — Lanvin's spring-summer 2014 menswear show evoked a feeling of being on a film noir set.

Perhaps it was the huge industrial retro lights that beamed from the center of the runway, reflecting the hazy quality of an old movie. Or perhaps it was in the black-heavy looks themselves: The slicked-back hair, the turned up collar of a sheeny black slim trenchcoat, or the high-waisted 1930s pants.

Whatever it was, it worked, producing a nostalgia that made this strong collection from designers Alber Elbaz and Lucas Ossendrijver look so finessed.

There were some great, stylishly loose suits in black and white, single and wrap over, that were light and worn on bare skin.

Elsewhere, a long retro brown blazer that hung to the mid-thigh cut a great silhouette with one sleeve rolled up — one of the recurrent styles seen this season. And a lightweight pale gray New Romantics-style bomber with studded crossover had a great stiff texture and hard old-fashioned upturned collar.

But there was also some fun to be found: in daringly-high 1970s short-shorts, in a series of light waist bags and in the show's finale, too.

The 44 looks ended with some bold color-blocked metallic banding and garish pants with shattered-glass effect that left nobody in doubt as to what decade the time-dial in Lanvin's nostalgic collection ended. It was firmly in the 1980s.

By: Thomas Adamson

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