Paris Men’s Fashion Week FW21: Viktor & Rolf, Canali, Taakk, and Rhude

The 1970s with a touch of the surreal have informed Viktor & Rolf’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection for its Mister Mister label. Vibrant retro hues (think blue, orange, and purple), vintage silhouettes, and psychedelic imagery were mainstays of the season, offering a range of styles both playful and sophisticated. Graphics and prints like smiley faces, stripes, lava lamp lettering, and brightly colored plaids intermingled with textures in looks like a pair of leather trousers with a tucked-in turtleneck sweater and a ruffle-front shirt worn underneath a pinstriped blazer. Other highlights included a pair of overalls styled with a thickly padded jacket, a red coat with a shearling collar worn over a cardigan and t-shirt pairing, and a pair of high-waisted speckled pants belted over a graphic tee reading “mister happy.” 

Executed in three parts, Canali took cues from the cultural evolution that happened in the 1970s, combining the styles of the decade with an air of contemporary refinement. In “Canali 1934” the house looks to earthy tones and geometric patterns, bringing us reboots of iconic menswear pieces like the Saharienne jacket and carcoat imagined in a houndstooth. Styles for the modern-day dandy are exemplified in “Exclusive,” featuring an attitude of luxury seen in garments like three-piece suits, blazers, and peacoats, executed in elevated fabrics like cashmere, fur, silk, and leather, and hues like cream, blue, dove grey, and green. In the “Black Edition,” the house has looked to the decade’s speed sports, pulling in elements like color blocking and bold shades of racing red and electric blue, applied to sportier styles, including tracksuits and padded outerwear.

Japanese fashion house Taakk’s Fall/Winter 2021 collection “Grounded in Unreality” explores the intersection and ambiguity between what we consider reality or not. Looking to the designer Takuya Morikawa’s love for the Surrealist movement and the meditative quality of Saul Leiter’s photographs, the house presented designs that emanate feelings of nostalgia and invoke thoughts of a distant dream. Introduced through a short film by Nagisa Kodama,the season’s looks put a heavy focus on materials. Looks in cotton transitioned into herringbone wool, polyester transformed into sheer organdy, and tailored wool faded into nylon. Each styled in monochrome or head-to-toe matching colors, highlights included a suit set in gray which included trousers, a vest, a blazer, and an overcoat; a sage-colored blazer with printed lines in the shape of lapels; and a pair of loosely pleated trousers and a button-up in an all-over hazy print reminiscent of out of focus flowers.

Presenting its Fall/Winter 2021 collections for men and women, Rhude’s founder Rhuigi Villaseñor sought out memories of his collegiate years for a collection that marries the past with a vision for the future. Capturing its new designs atop a cinematic, moto-inspired backdrop, the collection highlights notes taken from classic cars and a 1990s aesthetic, seen in the use of elements like denim and details taken from deconstructed automobile interiors. Combining an air of chicness with streetwear styles, looks we’re still thinking about included the denim utility suit worn with heavy combat boots, a pair of leather shorts styled with a double-breasted coat, and a white duster paired with jeans, sneakers, and a zip-up turtleneck.