ROUND THE WORLD #6. BREAKFAST AT COLETTE.
January 25, 2010

More shows, more viewings over the weekend. Paris, by the way, is a beautiful city in the night. History, mixed in with a bit of splendour.

On Saturday morning we were invited by lead designer (and ACRONYM founder) Errolson Hugh to his Stone Island Shadow FW10 presentation. It was pretty hard work pulling ourselves out of bed after a late night at Cafe de Flore with Tokyo friends, so we stumbled our way to the venue - Colette's water bar, located in the basement level of their incredible store on Rue Saint Honore, in the heart of the boutique shopping district of Paris. Like the Y3 presentation, Errolson's presentation also utilized live models, who periodically adjusted their garments to show the special technical features Errolson is known to infuse into his designs. Hidden comparments, flaps covering utility pockets, technical fabrics, and some military-spec along with some sports influence thrown into the mix. Thanks for showing us through some of the garments personally Errolson. Although the line does share some similarities with ACRN, the Stone Island Shadow collection isn't as technical, nor does it utilize some of the incredible high tech textiles found on ACRN's infamous jackets and garments. A couple of great little experimental features on some of the SIS outerwear items too, including a nice little effect created by corroding the black ripstop fabric to establish a fade in colour towards the cuffs and hem.

Despite our half-awakedness, we managed to bump into a few friends, old and new, including the honourable Kiyonaga-san who had flown in from Tokyo for a couple of days, and uber-talented stylist Stephen Mann. I'll see the both of you guys shortly.

After the Stone Island Shadow FW10 presentation we thought we had missed the MMM FW10 men's presentation, but thankfully learned that there was another session later on during the day. Housed in the Maison de Metallos in the 11th, it featured a rather interesting setup - as you walked into the door you are escorted by one of the ushers (dressed, of course, in the signature pure-white MMM lab coat) to a table, which was set up like a restaurant layout, complete with ambient restaurant noises played through loudspeakers hidden around the room. Once seated, a "menu" was passed onto you, which outlaid the 'looks' available on the day, or a breakdown of each model's wardrobe. As the show started, the models would walk into the room as if they were customers, weave their way through the tables, before sitting down on empty chairs at tables around the room, pretending to be diners. Once the show was complete, they all got up simultaneously and left the room in a perfectly rehearsed sweep, leaving you in a sense of amazement as all 26 of them weaved through the tables towards a single exit. This presentation was for lines 10 & 14, MMM's two men's collections. Progressive designs, alongside timeless replicas (14). Beautiful trench coats and suit jackets in the signature greys, whites, and black of MMM. I loved some of the heavy wool suit jackets, although the leather shirts... not so much.

I'm sure most of you will also have known by now that Martin Margiela is no longer affiliated with the business in a official capacity, so I am actually a little unsure whether or not he had a hand in this 'final' presentation, even with the rumours that he hasn't actually been actively involved over the past few years. It will be interesting to see how the next couple of seasons pans out, and who will replace him at the CD helm of the brand with his namesake.

Sunday night, we managed to sit down and break bread with team Staple Design. Jeff, and Nico "Pacquiao" Reyes. It's been a couple of years since I've seen the two of them in person, so it was great catching up and seeing what they were up to. After being reccomended a restaurant with the rather eye-brow raising name of "Le Derriere" on "69" Rue de Gravilliers in the "rainbow" end of Le Marais, we ended up at a place with traditional French fare - La Poule Au Pot, next to Les Halles. Nevertheless had a great time and conversation, boucing ideas back and forth, talking about the direction of the industry, listening to their inspirations and what drives them to do what they do, and calling dibs on what we're going to talk about at the Buffet tradeshow in Melbourne next month.

Reccomended - the escargots (snails), foie gras, and of course, their signature La Poule Au Pot Henry IV dish.

Ah oui oui.