Cargo pants, man bra feature in Paris menswear shows

Cargo pants, that staple of the 1990s wardrobe, made a comeback at the ongoing Paris spring-summer menswear shows on Friday -- while the man bra made its debut. Stefano Pilato at Yves Saint Laurent featured the former in his crisp travel-friendly collection, notably in a sharp reworking of the safari suit and in a combo that married pleated khaki trousers with a reptilian blouson. Tatsuro Horikawa at Julius sent out legside pockets as well, albeit on much looser trousers that kept true to the Japanese designer's neo-Goth sensibilities. But he broke new ground by putting several male models -- plus a female counterpart -- in uncupped leather bras detailed with a handy zippered pocket that that stretched across their bare hairless chests. Shorts appeared over jeggings, and iPhone-size black leather pounches adorned biceps, in an industrial-like show that underscored Horikawa's taste for the androgynous. American R&B star Usher was the front-row celebrity at Kris Van Aasche's own-label show in a one-time women's refuge, where the Belgian designer presented a smallish but fine collection of sharp, well-cut suits. Twenty-first-century Mods would feel at home in his jackets with upturned or Mao collars, and in his tapered trousers cuffed well above the ankle, available in no-nonsense shades of white, black and grey. Crepe black blazers and jackets, and a trench coat stripped of all details, were highlights, and several of the looks were topped off with cocky black derby hats. Van Assche shows again on Saturday in his other role as menswear designer for Christian Dior Homme. In other shows on Friday, Brazilian architect-turned-designer Gustavo Lins embraced minimalism as his models hang mustard and slate-grey jackets onto cieling-suspended torsos that Lins personally made from old fabric patterns. Lins, who is busy preparing what he promised would be an all-dress line for haute couture week in July, told AFP he was aiming for "a mathematical combination" by mixing colours and tailoring for jackets, shirts and trousers. Walter Van Beirendonck, the subject of a major retrospective in his native Belgium later this year, delighted his fans with a candy-coloured collection of paneled jackets and gingham suits worn with glittering bow ties. Notorious for a wicked sense of fashion humour, he finished off his show with some novelty outfits reminiscent of candy floss, including something that suggested either a pink tongue or a penis, depending on one's point of view.