When someone said I lived in fantasy land I nearly fell off my unicorn. I am every so slightly fascinated by everything topsy turvy, a way of living that I have tied into the mundanes of reality. Which is why when two designers showcased opulence and whimsy in their collections at Paris Fashion Week Mens (PFWM), I was elated.

Balmain

Having attended the previous season of this luscious line, Balmain‘s Olivier Rousteing chose the same location of Hotel Potocki with its swooping chandeliers, gilded walls and pristine white floors to showcase his detailed collection. While the former collection boasted of lace, leather and asymmetry, this one reinforced the classics of the tight pants and short military jackets, sprinkled with metal and glittery embelishments for the winter seasons. With an obsession for sparkle, I was enviably taking visual cues for my wardrobe, with a silver mesh tank, a slit shirt, and countless slimming jackets. These were military styled, with longer sleeves and higher cropped waists, broader square shoulders, and large utilitarian pockets. Many varied in their color combinations, with khaki and black pulling off a biker look, and black and metallics going the nightlife way, with zippers aplenty. My favorite color gold was prominent too, either as chains in hues on jacket sleeves, as large lion headed logos on tees and sweatshirts, transitioning into tan and beige fur and suede jackets. There were a few neon sign looking nightlife pieces with vinyl and velcro juxtaposed against landscape prints, a departure from the brand’s forte of craftsmanship, but nonetheless catchy. Overall with a penchant for all things sparkly, the collection was true to its roots and to my wardrobe. Another winner for Paris!

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Comme Des Garcons

Chaos is what killed the dinosaurs, darling. I was truly looking forward to what Rei Kawakubo had to offer for the funky Comme des Garcons brand, what with an artist inspired former season. This time it was themed after dinosaurs, or at least that was the large takeaway, what with models sporting headpieces from the dino-age. It was a deconstructed style collection, with patchworks aplenty on several different white and blue prints. On closer look, there were brick walls interlaced with ceramic pots, comic books atop of camo, stone wall on top of ivy, and several monochromes that worked well with asymmetric cuts and voluminous fits. The jackets were stiff, firm and broad shouldered, almost utilitarian and robotic, giving them both a past and future look all at once. The T-Rex skulls by Shimoda Masakatsu seemed cryptic, but could be interpreted as a nod to caveman style juxtaposition, or simply to child’s play, as many fabrics had been fused together unexpectedly. The last few pieces were white, bringing this hue to the forefront in apron and gown style jackets and outerwear, giving the entire collection a mix of a futuristic and cartoonish feel, but one which worked as modern and edgy fashion.

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Supplementary images by WWD.