Paris – Kim Jones, menswear designer for luxury brand Louis Vuitton, took his customers on a journey to sea – from scuba to surf to mariner – through the lens of pop culture, for its spring/summer 2013 collection.
Jones said he was looking at different kinds of men to whom he related this style – men who span the worlds of yachting and sailing to the more sport/street looks of surfing and scuba.
Technical, nautical-inspired pieces such as lightweight silk parkas, laser-cut sou’westers and buckle-clip fastenings for marine dungarees stood out. Blue and white poplin shirts reconstructed into a plaited jumper, or patchwork and madras denim pieces, gave the collection a more lost-at-sea feel.
Neon leather touches decorated nylon Daimler check backpacks that added a multifunctional marine feel to the hybrid technical accessories.
If men are returning to more sartorial styles, it is alongside a sports and technical mood that says function over vanity.
LS:N Global likes Jones’s Revivalist approach to such a perennial seasonal theme as ‘nautical’. In his hands, Louis Vuitton’s global mariner docks at many lifestyle ports.