Les Hommes. Spring 2020 - Milan Fashion Week

 (Images from the designer and the public domain. Credited to the photographer/company where applicable: Gorunway.com)

Les Hommes the brand formed by Belgium duo of Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch with over a decade as known fashion designers, have recently mirrored the very Antwerp school of stylization as the mainstay play of their Italian crafted clothes.  Of the very few that have made it through the famous school of fashion, Notte and Vanderbosh continue on with that recognized sell point of the mix and match of formal and casual dual styles, that the iconic Walter Van Beirendonck, now the director of the the Academy in Antwerp, has laid down as a testament to his originality and forte as a well known designer of the last three decades of his career.  As noted with A.F Vandevost, also Antwerp prodigies, is the portrayed gateway seen for designers that have made through from studying at the school and moving on to the mainstream fashion world, offers a glimmer of plagiarism.  It has to be said, because the school itself, is a draw card of expectation and desires of many students that attempt – in hope to be graced with the prestige of success.  This is of course a fallacy, talent is from continued discipline and practice, that, in a shadowed prestige, is and always will be illusive.  So a critique of styles of the more well known designers is warranted and Les Hommes of Spring 2020 has missed the mark with the latest collection, as it portrays, in a recopied way Van's Beirendonck take on fashion design.  The graft of sports looks to formal attire, again, as noted with the A.F Vandevost shows, is the use of compression shorts and/or bike, running looks. Its originality has become scarce beyond the branding aspects. 

Notte and Vandebosch prior collections have at times maintained their styles of rugged, goth, formal concepts.  Which kept in step with the brand's fixture in their period of 16 years of producing garments.  After opening their flagship store in 2013 located in their home town of Antwerp, there is a curious aspect of the brand, such are some of these noted Belgium designs and their signature styles, possibly remaining affixed, stuck under the umbrella of the well known fashion school of Antwerp.  To which most have graduated.  It feels, as through the institutionalized aspect of academia, within its boundaries, is now a swelling behemoth of ambition and expectations of grandeur, that many designers could be finding hard to detach from and this can be seen at recent Les Hommes Fashion shows.  Despite the skill shown, this does feel like a continued post graduate exhibition.  That now, as an established brand, they seem intent on reflecting the sentiment back to the younger designers who have asserted the looks portayed as the current trend; which is the sport, street and formal styles that have been duplicated countless times over.  Now labeled the 90s looks, that Walter Van Beirendonck is renown for, in that sense Les Hommes for Spring 2020 are offering only a surreality of copies. 

Some of the fine tailoring for this collection is evident, with beautifully cut and crated styles courtesy of the Les Hommes backlog, fine wool via the Italian mills, fitted and portrayed on the models within the formal attire.   The so called 90's sport or as Notte and Vandebosch have revealed,  "Rave" styles (which is correct) are cut into the formal ensembles in an ad hoc Van Beirendonck imprint.