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CULTURE

Skin on show at Paris menswear week

Plunging necklines and naked backs are no longer reserved for femmes fatales, becoming regular features of menswear shows at this Paris Fashion Week, with plenty of skin on show right down to the tips of toes.

Skin on show at Paris menswear week
Models at Paris Fashion Week in Paris, on June 22, 2023. Photo: Geoffroy VAN DER HASSELT/AFP.

The backless look has already been spied among more daring celebrities such as Timothee Chalamet on red carpets, and several designers in Paris laid things bare.

Things were particularly spicy at Egonlab, the young label by French duo Florentin Glemarec and Kevin Nompeix known for their genderless aesthetic.

They had suit jackets with a square neckline revealing the whole chest and very low waist trousers that offered a shot of the bottom.

“There’s a lot of skin this season,” Glemarec told AFP.

“We wanted to free ourselves from all the codes, especially in tailoring, to replace it with something more creative, more fun,” added Nompeix.

The idea, they said, is to encourage people “to no longer be afraid of their bodies, to no longer hide behind clothes and instead use them to transcend who we are.”

It was also about bare feet at Dries Van Noten on Thursday, where everything from sequined shorts to formal coats and suits were paired with flip-flops.

“I like having this naked side, with transparencies, plunging necklines, but also on feet,” the Belgian designer told AFP backstage, adding that it represents “a new form of elegance”. 

Buyers were impressed.

“Dries Van Noten never disappoints, but this season was an exceptionally strong collection,” said Simon Longland of British department store Harrods.

‘Carnal being’

There was a similar vibe with the hotly tipped new Franco-Turkish designer Burc Akyol, showing for the first time as part of the official fashion week calendar.

One of his signature pieces — the slitted, baggy trousers left plenty of hairy leg on show.

“I’ve always found that people who hide the body in their design are in body denial. I like to exist as a carnal being,” he told AFP.

Spain’s Arturo Obegero had his models bare-chested or in a sort of jumpsuit ending mid-thigh.

He imagined an “evening surfer” on the River Seine with a “romantic and seductive silhouette,” he told AFP.

Surf-and-skate inspired label Bluemarble and fabled names like Givenchy also had some bare moments.

“This nudity is very telling of this moment when there is a lot of talk about gender fluidity,” said Olivier Gabet, a fashion historian at the Louvre.

“Young designers do not compartmentalise. Their collections are often a mixture of men and women,” he said, though added this was not necessarily about truly genderless clothes, but also a commercial move to hit multiple markets at once. 

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LIVING IN FRANCE

5 tips to have the best possible night at France’s Fête de la musique

It can be the most fun day of the year - when France goes music crazy and bands suddenly appear on every street corner - but there are some tips to make your Fête de la musique experience as good as it can possibly be.

5 tips to have the best possible night at France's Fête de la musique

First, a caveat – this is an entirely personal manifesto based on the things that I have enjoyed over my Fête de la Musique outings over the years. It’s not intended as any kind of hard-and-fast rule and plenty of people will have different experiences.

Feel free to disagree and/or share your festival tips in the comments section below!

1 Ignore the big-name artists

There are always a few big-name artists or concerts in major venues on the Fête de la musique (which happens every year on June 21st).

Ignore them. Sure, stadiums gigs can be great and huge venues can have a wonderful atmosphere – but you can do that any night of the year. It’s not what Fête de la musique is about.

The true spirit of the Fête is the smaller acts who play on street corners, in bars and community venues. They’re free, you can wander between them and stay as long as you like – and there is always something else around the corner.

2 Ignore the big towns

You might think that the big cities have the best music, but if you have the choice, go for a small town or a suburb.

I’ve enjoyed some good Fêtes in Paris, but the best experiences had have been smaller towns or the Paris’ suburbs (Montreuil is good – a commune that carefully cultivates a small-town / village vibe, albeit a very diverse small town where everyone is a hippy, a leftist, or both).

It’s partly a practicality thing – in big cities the acts are spread out and you have to make plans to see something and meet up with friends. In small towns, you just wander along to the main square, then when you’ve seen the acts there, you can saunter up the side streets, each of which will have dozens of bands playing, pausing only to grab a beer and snacks.

But it’s also the vibe; in big cities you can hear good live music all the time and the population is consequently complacent – small towns truly appreciate the Fête de la musique and properly go wild.

Once, in Paris, I was watching a blues band play in the street when a woman tipped water on their heads from her apartment window because she was tired and wanted to go to sleep. Small towns appreciate it when bands play for them.

3 Experiment

There’s a lot of variety on the night, so take advantage – this is your opportunity to hear all kinds of live music from rock to swing, jazz to classical, choirs to DJs.

Didn’t think that a five-piece oud band is your thing? Fête de la musique may change your mind. It’s the night of the year when anything goes, musically, so it’s also the night to try something new.

If you hate it – well it’s free and there’s another band down the street that might be more your thing. But you might discover a lifetime passion for oud music – in fact, by this time next year you might be playing in the oud band. Thanks to the Fête de la musique.

4 Don’t insist on quality

You’ll hear some great bands, but you’ll also hear some that are more about enthusiasm – and that’s all part of the fun.

You’re going to be hearing everything from classic rock to reggae to blues to the above-mentioned five-piece oud band, and as well as the styles the quality may be variable to.

For me, the true spirit of Fête de la musique is the 50-year-old accountant rocking out on his guitar and enjoying the one night of the year when he can dream that if only he hadn’t given up on his high school band, he could now be rich, famous and selling out stadiums, as opposed to filing tax declarations in an office above the florist.

5 Dress comfortably

Some people like to dress up for the Fête and that’s great – it’s a party after all – but the key thing is to wear something that is comfortable and allows you to shake your stuff.

Yes, you will be dancing – you’ll be dancing on street corners, in parks, cafés and perhaps on street furniture if things really get going, and you’ll be dancing with kids, dapper 70-year-old gents and everyone in between.

You need comfortable shoes and clothes that you can really move in.

Dance like no-one is watching. They may be watching, but they won’t be judging. Much. It’s Fête de la musique.

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