The most outrageous show and collection of the season was Kidsuper's cool composite collage collection, where Brazilian soccer legend Ronaldinho modeled to deafening applause.
The star of the last Brazilian team to win a World Cup, in Japan in 2002, Ronaldinho radiated a beatific smile as he appeared in a giant faux fur coat.
Later, he greeted Colm Dillane, the founder and designer of Kidsuper, who recounted the last-minute scramble to get Ronaldinho ready even as he walked the runway.
In a Paris menswear season marked by the emergence of a host of cult followings of competing independent designers, like Egonlab or Sean Suen, to name a few, this felt like the most passionate tribe.
The attraction of Kindsuper? Dynamic urban couture styling, like the ecru shearling coat with cutouts of New York brownstones or anatomical sketches; or the extravagant zoot suits in composite sketches of saints and sinners.
All in a show opened by a twirling classical ballet dancer dressed in a ruffled, jagged-edged tunic from Kidsuper. Followed by a weeping widow in acres of all-black tulle.
Dillane is possibly best known for his breakout stint at Louis Vuitton a year ago, in a brief interregnum between Virgil Abloh and Pharrell Williams. And he clearly learned a lot of ideas and techniques from the LV experience, adding some fantastic multi-collage clutches and men's bags.
And in a collection that referenced threads, the key moment was when a model in a white corduroy suit walked down the runway as her black knit sweater tied backstage gradually came apart.
“We must have tried it hundreds of times and that was the first time it worked. Even today's test didn't go properly,” laughs Dillane, the son of an Irishman who emigrated from the small town of Rathdowney.
So even if the styling was a bit formulaic, the tailoring traditional and the finish tough, this was a great show. and confirmation
Dillane and Kidsuper will be a force to be reckoned with in the future. Tellingly, Michael Burke, the Vuitton CEO who hired Dillane for his stint at LV, and the man who will take over LVMH's Fashion Group on February 1, was the first to congratulate Colm. He talks about a Murphy'osa Irish fashion.
Dillane, a Brooklyn-raised creator, is admired for the collage paintings he creates for each exhibition; like the brilliant coat of the downtown artist that even bore his own signature.
Backstage, his fans and followers raised glasses of champagne in his honor and chanted his name. This is a designer who doesn't have a shy bone in his body. A day earlier, in the same building, the legendary Japanese creator Rei Kawakubo did not say a single word to the editors or critics who greeted her post-show.
Dillane, on the other hand, took the microphone again and said: “Ronaldinho arrived only two hours before the show, but we still did it!”
Which sparked an explosion of cheers from his team, singing in unison, 'Ole! Old! Old!'
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