A menswear store under the influence

Maison Martin Margiela showcased the AW12 collection at the Couvent des Cordeliers, a classified historical monument at the
6th arrondissement in the left bank of the Seine.

The crowd gathering outside and some of the building’s beautiful large gothic windows. Lab coat alert!

Stylish dudes of different genres converged.

Some of the most representative pieces from the AW12 collection were displayed behind glass panels at the near 1000 square
meters of the convent’s main hall. Here, an Artisanal garbage bag coat with detachable hood and behind, some Replica jackets
made from 100% camel hair.

Signature golden boots and a denim boiler suit composed of separate detachable garments put together by a system of zips.

Sheepskin classic garments and accessories with details shaved into the fur in order to create a trompe-l’oeil effect.

A side view on the all shoe-sole rubber footwear range. Why is it that, no one thought of this before?!? Genious.

The new threaded sole featured over the classic shoe styles and some of the fur lined pieces in the background.

Alyssa Norton pieces are usually shown at the Valerie Demure Showroom along with other designers. This time though,
the guys joined forces with another showroom and showcased their stuff together at a different location.

Andrew was busy so it gave us some time to browse around the other brands.

Here’s the wooden display cabinet that houses Alyssa’s collections. Let’s start opening some drawers to see what’s new.

Some pieces from our selection for AW12.

Now going for their third collection, the Adam Kimmel collaboration with american workwear powerhouse Carhartt continues to
deliver straight to the point no fuss clothing with improved cuts and fabrics, all under the Kimmel identity and enjoying Carhartt’s
quality construction. While visiting the showroom, we took a couple of shots to some of the new styles.

We caught up with our friend Willy, who regularly models for Adam, while new girl Marissa helped us go through the new stuff.

A basic denim shirt over some slim fit cotton pants.

A new version of the long collar plaid flannel shirt, this time in black.

Willy giving us some model attitude.

Finally, a wool zipped short jacket with patch pockets. Clean and simple.

The other significant men’s trade show in Paris Fashion Week is Tranoi. Over 120 new and established designers show their
new stuff here so we are talking big.

An outside view of the beautiful Palais de La Bourse where the trade show is usually held.

Although not as packed as Capsule, there was some action going on and, most importantly, buyers placing their orders.

Our good friend Riccardo Goti saluting us from his stand as we arrive.

Some of his new pieces mixed with carefully selected display items.

It was his 40th birthday so we stopped to buy some champagne, cupcakes and candles on our way to Tranoi and, over an
improvised cake, we sang Tanti Auguri a Te.

Moving on, to meet with Alex from Mad et Len, standing in front of the new compelling cabinet displays. He complimented us
on our Windows and told us how much of a fan of our shop he is. Thank you Alex, we also love your stuff, you know that.

The stand was quite busy with people unable to resist the Mad et Len effect.

In the midst of showrooms and appointments, there are three main go to places in Paris men’s fashion week – Capsule, Tranoi and from now on, MAN. Capsule is known to be the starting point for brands who are first reaching the market, while MAN is a new men’s trade show that comes as a substitute of the now extinguished Rendez-Vous. Let’s start with these two and talk about Tranoi in the next blog post.

The garage entry to Capsule.

A view on one of the large spaces that houses the trade show.

Ground floor was busy as ever and (despite the feeble economic scenario that currently sweeps Europe) with an overgrowing
need for the brands showcased there. A good sign for the economy perhaps… let’s hope so.

Top floor view, with people behind each brand giving their very best to attract buyers. Let’s not forget this is business and
that sales done here are often crucial to a brand’s continuity, development and vitality.

The main entry at MAN.

A sign with the list of this edition’s featured brands, including some surprises.

One of the nicest things about our visit to MAN was to find a new portuguese brand showing their stuff there, which is rare.
LA PAZ is a new brand from Porto with a first collection inspired by portuguese fishermen. The brand’s catalogue box was
also a good surprise, featuring a custom made can of sardines. Here we see André and Zé Miguel from LA PAZ who also told
us they had recently been to NY and that sales were good. Congrats guys, we wish you the best of luck!

Time to catch up (again) with Our Legacy, this time at their showroom in the back room of the OFR bookshop in Paris. The boys were coming back from the NY Capsule trade show, where they went to showcase the collection – American GQ acknowledged them as one of the ten standouts from this season’s edition (read it here). It was also time to talk football, reminisce about old swedish coaches and players who were in portuguese teams and anticipate a Portugal X Sweden match in the next European Championship. The guys were also excited about their upcoming new shop openings in Sweden.

The showroom’s raw elegance is a good match with the brands identity, always going for good clean designs, highlighted
by patterned and sometimes unexpectedly bold fabrics.

Two waxed cotton jackets for AW12.

Richardos, wearing his recent bargain find from Mr. Lang, and first timer Johan both checking the video we did for Buttero.

The strong but somewhat easy going patterns for the new shirts.

Our Legacy collections are always made of balanced basic items like t-shirts and their trademark Great Sweats. Swell new
colors and patterns for the scarves too.

Last, we asked the guys to pick their favorite piece from the AW12 collection. Two jackets curiously enough, with Johan
choosing the black bomber and…

Richardos going for the new single pocket denim jacket. Great work guys, keep it up!

The second part of our visit to Margiela is always destined to accessories and footwear, housed in a separate room on a different floor level. We like to start with the clothes, check out the mood of the collection and then make our way into the other stuff. To us, it simply makes more sense like this.

At the accessories and footwear floor, with Dominique, Sandrine and Fannie full at work.

Starting with the shoes.

The cap toe oxford receives a new built in rubber element sole without giving in to the original elegant shape.

New boots featuring a quilted effect while using a mix of suede, leather hair and nylon.

The true head turners this time however, were the all rubber made shoes and boots.

Some patent leathers for the new futuristic sneakers and an incredible paint splattered effect on the classic replica models.

A snake skin effect on the shoes and sneakers is obtained from ballpoint pen drawing.

An overview of the room, with the bags range at the back wall.

Zooming in on the smaller goods, some new accessories with amazing finishes.

Staff members having lunch at the Maison’s private cafeteria. Lab coats always on, sûrement!

Ok, now definitely on our first report from Paris, at the Margiela headquarters for our AW12 selection.

Arriving at the showroom and already checking out the signature pieces from the runway show, made from lightweight technical
fabrics, on a take on garbage bags.

An interesting knitted wool duffle coat.

This time, our designated helper at Margiela was Monsieur Odilon. Here he is, helping us with our clothing order.

Another play on the duffle, this time on a shorter wool plaid version.

Photos from the AW12 look book spread over one of the tables for viewing.

The signature white mannequins over a white wall and a window view to the beautiful church across the street.

One of the reversible shirts from our selection, plaid cotton on one side and denim on the other. More of the garbage bag
inspired pieces in the background.

As it turns out, and while our boss and overall head buyer was hard working in the backstage of the Paris Fashion Shows for some new features, we were having a bit of trouble in synching files back with the office. As a result, there were some pics from our last visit to Tonello in Milan that were left out, before we came to Paris. Here they are now.

The showroom when we first arrived, with some buyers considering their options.

Some nice displays housing the new styles.

A short hooded jacket from the AW12 collection.

Enough browsing. Time to start get those fabrics sorted out. As usual, we need someone to help us as there are so many
fabric samples and color combinations for each style.

Options for the long jacket.

Tonello also had some new wool and alpaca knitwear featured in basic colors that we liked.

Accessories like bow ties and scarves, on display near the hand painted glass windows.

A group shot of the Tonello girls that assisted us on our selection.

Finishing our week journey in Milan, we stop over at the Boglioli showroom to get to know the collection more in detail and make our selection for AW12. We really enjoy hanging out over there and always end up staying more time than we need, learning about the cuts,
the fabrics and finishing techniques.

The knitwear, beanies and jacket you see here undergo an enzyme treatment to get the so called “frost” look.

These jackets are hand painted after they’re made, using some kind of paint roller, believe it or not.

The fabric on some of the pieces on the left rack, have the so called “bouclé” treatment, which means that after the fabric
is made, it is treated in order to create small loops and knots while becoming spongy and very soft to the touch.

Well, enough about the technical stuff, let’s enjoy the rest of the appointment to look around and make our season picks.
Speaking of which, here’s some over here.

Boglioli is also big in places like Japan or China, no wonder there’s so many asian buyers each time we’re here.

The showrooms’s large windows overlooking the street, the classic Vespa and some weekend bags. For us, it’s time to leave
and say goodbye to Milan. Flying to Paris later, just in time for the Adam Kimmel show. Ciao!

Moving on to footwear and accessories, it was so chilly at the garage where they were displayed, that Stefano was wearing
a Paul Smith polka dot throw blanket to stay warm.

Lots of new stuff regarding the footwear range, with mixed colors and patterns, a new crepe sole and some high shine.



And a slightly new shape and finishes on the chunky brogue department.

Croco prints are ones to watch next AW12.

As usual, plenty of good options to fill your accessories drawer.

Let’s wrap it up. Our order all written down and signed. Werk!

At Paul Smith, our visit to the three storey showroom starts at ground floor, with the mainline collection on the racks and the
mannequins dressed with some of the looks that will appear in the Paris runway show on Sunday.

Among the lots of fantastic fabrics and knock out prints, this shark tooth one was the coolest.

Nadine is always there to watch our backs, here accompanied by Simon who’s in charge of the mainline sales.

Moving up, the light installations hanging from the third floor ceiling give a nice warm touch to the place.

Fair isle is all over the knitwear for AW12, whether in detail or in full.

Time to choose some shirts and jackets from the PS line. Giorgio gives us some attitude for the pic.

The American staff, full at work.

Another day in Milan and we move forward on our AW12 fashion schedule to visit the Band Of Outsiders showroom. The collection features a lot of dusty colors topped off by rustic color highlights and Oaxacan blanket motifs and embroideries. Inspiration has come from Scott Sternberg‘s recent trip to Mexico City and the mix between urban environments and western landscapes.

For starters, the usual color base scheme, with navy blues and greens always there.

In tune with the season’s mood, this colorful knit jacket is totally hand made with wool fibers coming from Peru.

A view of the room, with a giant signature polaroid from the AW11 look book, that featured actors Tom Felton and
Rupert Grint and was shot at The Magic Castle in LA.

A wide selection of ties, in multiple colors and patterns and some of the brand’s knitted benies.

On the right, we can clearly see the dusty colors and rusty tones we talked about earlier.

Another one of the amazing wool jackets that underline the collection’s inspiration.

The toggle coat has become one of Band Of Outsiders key pieces throughout the AW collections. This one features the usual
rope and toggle closure but also an off centre zip.

Wool and alpaca fingerless gloves, good to keep the hands warm while working those Ipad’s.