Philipp Plein celebrated 20 years in the fashion game at his Fall 2019 Menswear show. As expected, it was a tribute to all his contributions to the field, some celebrated ones and some a little too controversial—but all just a little more refined than usual. For one thing, most of the models were covered up in oversized parkas and puffer coats, dressed in tailored and tracksuits and styled in electric shades of neon green, bright orange, cobalt blue, lemon yellow, and deep red. The vibrant hues complimented (or offset, depending on the perspective) the wild camouflage and leopard prints that decorated the men’s easy or strict tailoring. They were deliberately tacky, which some people will appreciate while others will abhor. We felt the latter the moment we saw Scarface‘s Tony Montana printed on t-shirts underneath all those bulky layers—talk about a gimmick? Fashion is veering away from this sort of stuff and for Plein to go back to this route in his latest offering just proves the disparity between his vision and where the industry is at right now. Granted he is a rule-breaker, but if his ‘breaking the rules’ only leads to oversaturated sportswear and gimmicky t-shirts, then what’s the point? Though this wasn’t that awful a collection (he’s had worse!), the whole fashion world—including us—knows he could have done better, especially for his 20th-anniversary show!
Photo: Alessandro Lucioni / Gorunway.com
