Falling leaves, flying birds, rainstorms, contrast between the pastoral and the urban—all of these things inspired the spring Miharayasuhiro collection, and all of them were graphically represented in a gallery-worthy projection that served as backdrop to the designers Henry David Thoreau-inspired collection. Stand out items included pants with half shirts sewn around their waist, as if tied that way; asymmetrically designed outerwear work with one arm in a sleeve and the other under a cape. Somehow sharp tech fabrics, soft draping, New England prep, Eastern romantic…so many disparate ideas became a masterfully rendered collection by a long underrated designer.

Inspired by Korean director Ki-duk Kim’s Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter… and Spring, Dior Homme took a definitive turn eastward for the Spring 2011 collection. Models emerged from a spiral shaped curtain at the center of a circular runway, and then descended back into the spiral. (Backstage was hidden at the center). Caftans, sandals, and wrapped and draped waists, were some of the more literal translations. The show ended with a progression of amazing Asian models who had been cast from a far flung Kazakh agency.

All white for the first half, all black for the second, Ann Demeulemeester’s latest collection was divided into two nearly identical halves, one in each of the two non-colors. The clothing itself was hard-edged and without the sort of soft lyricism of recent collections. Stiff, archaic-looking suiting elements sometimes suggested the straight jacket of the sanitarium. At other times they seemed futuristic and dystopian à la Logan’s Run. The white/black dichotomy would suggest yin/yang or good vs. evil, but that may be a red herring. In white the collection felt formal and institutional. In black it seemed to rebel and take on more spirit. These are not so much opposite concepts as they are perpendicular moods.

Damir Doma’s entire collection seemed to stem from the scarf, an item of apparel which he is quite good at making and of which he has sold many. Fabrics were wrapped into head dresses, and allowed to grow into nearly unwieldy shirts. Shorts, usually of the harem variety, were gathered on the sides so that they resembled the head wraps up top. Jackets were split in the back so that they two took on the qualities of draping. The overall effect was a religious, tribal, and nomadic energy.

From Hermès, a beautiful collection of simple pieces in a neutral palette of white, beighe, grey, and cream…and a little bit of green. A few details belied the line’s reliance on tradition. A dress shirt was tailored like a blazer; another zipped up instead of buttoning; bridle logos were subtly blurred and skewed. And of course the leathers were amazing.

Marking his fifteenth anniversary, Raf Simons presented an amazing collection that at times felt like a best-of, and at others felt like a proper crowning moment. Pants were wide, and specially stitched at the knees to bell around the foot. The tailoring was split down the back with a zipper…the idea being to show the inner workings of the construction. Sometimes zippers were replaced by hospital gown like tie-ups. A few pieces were emblazoned with words borrowed from the film Paris is Burning as “reading,” “shade,” and the like. It felt maturely appropriate when the last three pieces grew increasingly less decked in frills until, for the very last look, the model walked out in a beautiful, finely tailored, perfectly fitted, black, two button Raf Simons suit.

Images courtesy of firstVIEW

KEYWORDS: ann demeulemeester, Damir Doma, Dior Homme, Hermès, Miharayasuhiro, paris fashion week, Raf Simons, runway, shows

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