Paris menswear: Yohji Yamamoto and Sean Suen

Two Asian designers who have chosen Paris to display their fashion - Yohji Yamamoto of Japan and Sean Suen of China – made the most compelling statements on a muggy Thursday of menswear fashion, though Yohji owned the day with his star model – Charlotte Rampling.

Charlotte Rampling ended the latest Yohji Yamamoto menswear show in a white shirt dress, knickerbockers, chains, shades and a raffia hat. She had already stolen the show with her first passage half-way through.

A beautiful collection from the Japanese master, with scores of Buddhist thoughts, meditations and words of wisdom printed on pretty well every look.

Attending a Yohji show – especially in his cramped European HQ in Les Halles - has always slightly felt like being member of a very cool club. This afternoon, there were literally twice as many fans outside as aficionados within – all sitting on tiny wooden fold out chairs like acolytes or seminarians.

But faith can often work miracles, as Yamamoto did with this Spring/Summer 2025 collection, made in the lightest fabrics even used by the designer. Floaty rayon, semi sheer nylon, gentle silks.

“I was thinking about a hot summer,” chuckled Yohji, dressed in black shirt, elongated gilet and battered felt hat.

Most looks overprinted with sketches by Yohji - blotchy figurative illustrations, including one of Rampling on her extended white shirt/gilt look.

“You didn’t recognize it was me!” joked Rampling in mock dismay in the packed backstage, after she posed with Yamamoto in an even more densely crowded backstage.

The show was a reminder that every guy who cares about fashion should have at least on redingotes or a shirt jacket from Yamamoto, especially from this superlative collection. A spiritual take from the man and a reminder of how many young designers are influenced by Yohji.

“I was rediscovering Buddhism. To understand religion it takes time. It is so hard. I started studying when I was young, but did not understand so well,” he explained.

And his elegiac fashion, with its cut-outs, gentile dropped shoulders and arm holes and ephemeral aesthetic somehow evoked the Buddhist concept of non-harming.

Asked had he studied the other important religion in Japan, Shinto, Yohji replied: “No, I hated Shinto. Because it is what caused the war.”

Given the one party regime in China, there is a superficial tendency among westerners to regard all Chinese as conformist. That could never be said of Sean Suen, or of his latest collection, dedicated to actor and cross-dressing artist, Mei Lanfang.

A legendary figure in the Peking Opera, Mei Lanfang portrayed over 180 female characters in a brilliant career.

Hence, the designer incorporated multiple theatrical elements – flowing sleeves or jade belts – into elements of Eastern and Western.

Monkish knit skull-caps trimmed in pearls; jackets finished with tassels; diplomat’s high winged collar paired with deconstructed Zhongshan.

“Transforming on stage into a beauty that transcended gender and societal norms,” was how Sean Suen praised this season’s muse - Mei Lanfang.

Nomadic style, but very much for travelers who never stray far from a five-star hotel chain.

An elegant statement, and a stimulating discovery for the audience who witnessed the show inside the Palais de Tokyo in Paris.

Even if perhaps, a vision where too often the concept took over the clothes. With the result that they took over the models as well. All told, a very clever technical exercise, and an eye-opening visual discourse, even if not quite a great collection.

Paris menswear: Yohji Yamamoto and Sean Suen

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