Calvin Klein Collection Men's S14 Runway Show

Monday morning saw the manifestation of Calvin Klein's Creative Director Italo Zucchelli's interpretation of the modern man in summer. Presented in the company's European headquarters in Milan, his Spring 2014 collection was awash in hues of blue, which he translated to athletic standards as mesh and panelled letterman jackets, sleeveless vests, and monochrome silhouettes. The latter wavered somewhere between internal medicine-chic and Bal Harbour uniform--for years, my physician grandfather wore the same powder blue jacket and matching pants with a smart polyester polo.

You might interpret the look as updated suiting. Integral then, would be the tee or sweatshirt (supplanting the need for a fussy oxford), which Zucchelli provided with Rene Magritte-like prints of hot desert skies punctuated by dark black rectangles or blocked-in clouds. These were the standouts.

 

The stiff oxfords with shiny buttons that conjured up images of wayward urban cowboys and hippy sandals or matching creeper brogues (sometimes in a redundant baby blue) didn't feel as necessary.

Dior Cruise 2014

Raf Simons debuted his Dior 2014 cruise collection in the perfect setting last week: amidst the ever-glamorous Cannes Film Festival. He sent models down a Monte Carlo runway in looks that would have been been well received on red carpets--and a few bloomer-bearing ensembles that might make sense on the bow of a yacht alone.

Since Simons took the reigns of the storied house last year, I've been surprised by his inventiveness and nonchalant risk-tasking. (This season, it looked as though a few ladies hastened to pull their zippers after fleeing some midnight swim by moonlight.) I like to think his deviations from the spectacularly modern and pulled-together prove that we (our perspectives, tastes & experiences) are ever-evolving.

 



 

*All collages are the work of Francesca Soroka.

Paintings here are the work of Anne Harper.