Since joining Givenchy as creative director back in June 2020, Matthew Williams has set about introducing a number of signature details and key pieces to the Parisian fashion house. One such example of this is the Mallow, the (in)famous streamlined molded rubber shoe that also features prominently in Givenchy’s SS22 campaign. For the collection, Williams brought the American artist Josh Smith on board, whose sculptures and vibrant paintings played a key inspiration for the overall vision of the season. The colours, pattern and prints of the SS22 collection are a nod to the dynamism Smith instils in his work – and a reflection of the energy with which Williams has approached his role at Givenchy.

Launching today, Fiorucci and Napapijri unveil a collaboration that combines the practicalities of alpine outerwear with the dazzle of the disco. By joining forces, the two Italian brands celebrate a shared passion for exploring the world and their respective heritages. The technical know-how of Napapijri and the creative flare of Fiorucci become the foundations of a collection that celebrates the iconic reference points of both brands.

For the AMBUSH Fall Winter 2022 collection, designer Yoon Ahn focuses on technical innovation. Specifically, the brand’s logo and monogram become a point of exploration for the technological possibilities of the collection. Knitwear featuring the AMBUSH logo changes colour in response to sunlight, while the monogram appears on a coat in response to rain. As much as these details capture Yoon’s desire to push the boundaries of innovation, this technological response to weather represents the designer’s interest in the natural world, too.

The Loewe Fall Winter 2022 Men’s collection was presented in and amongst a site-specific installation by artists Joe McShea and Edgar Mosa. Titled Flags, Paris 2022, the work is composed of nearly 4000 ribbons hanging down onto the sandy runway and audience seating below. As models appear and the vision of creative director, Jonathan Anderson’s collection becomes clear, so does the meaning of McShea and Mosa’s artwork: “The flags are stripped of meaning, acting as a call to reflection.”

For Lucie and Luke Meier, their role at the helm of Jil Sander is to provide the individual with “the tools and freedom to be what they want to be”. For their Fall Winter 2022 Men’s collection presented in the American Cathedral in Paris, that means crafting a versatile-yet-minimalist template for the wearer to adapt. Outerwear and tailoring work as the starting point for a uniform that can be adapted, suitable for day and night. The silhouettes of the collection follow a simple logic: sophisticated but casual, which feeds into the idea of establishing a blank canvas on which to build a sense of self.

“In an era when information has become much easier to obtain globally,” explains designer Mihara Yasuhiro, “I’ve turned to localising myself with my surroundings.” The outcome is an F/W 2022 collection that delves into a moment since past, as Yasuhiro recalls Tokyo of the 1990s. The Maison Mihara Yasuhiro show was held in a shopping market in Asakusa, Tokyo – where the designer’s first offices were located 25 years ago.

For the Fall Winter 2022 Pour Homme collection, Yohji Yamamoto staged the show at the flagship store in Aoyama, Tokyo rather than in Paris. The result was a show that felt distinctively low-key and personal for a designer of such global recognition. The collection takes its inspiration from the nineteenth century, modelled by a cast of dark yet dandy figures (including, as it happens five Japanese actors). Hair and, at time, faces are streaked and powdered grey with almost Fagin-meets-Scissorhands effect. Yet the collection is anything but raggedy.

At the 𝓛𝓸𝓾𝓲𝓼 Dreamhouseô, imagination runs wild – specifically, the Boyhood IdeologyÆ that the late Virgil Abloh left us with. The Louis Vuitton Men’s Collection F/W 2022 marks the final act of an eight season-long play and Abloh’s swansong as menswear creative director. The collection, most of it completed before Abloh’s death in November 2021, encapsulates the legacy of the designer’s vision and his contributions (sartorially as well as creatively and intellectually) shared over his short tenure at the French house.

At Lemaire, models travel across what feels like a vast landscape, moving across time and space. The chronophotography of the nineteenth-century scientist and physiologist, Étienne-Jules Marey is a point of reference here for Sarah-Linh Tran and Christophe Leimare. Marey layered negatives atop of one another in order to study movement of the body; the show achieves a similar effect here as models meander in front and across of one another. All on separate journeys, perhaps, but bound by the similar silhouettes they cut.

Next week, the designer Glenn Martens will take on the role of creative director for Jean Paul Gaultier for a single season. But what relevancy does that have for the Fall/Winter 2022 collection for Y/Project? It means everything. Martens has approached this collection as a merging of alliances, making reference to the iconic designs of Gaultier, as well as his role as creative director at Diesel.