O.K., I’m a sucker for overalls; have been ever since that great American classic of town-and-country life, “Green Acres.” Junya Watanabe’s free-spirited collection, presented in a garden, featured loose-fitting overalls with Wellies, scrap-patch shirts, plaid shorts and waxed cotton utility jackets. I don’t know if he was appealing to the music festival crowd or the farm-to-table movement or just some dudes in Brooklyn, but his timing couldn’t be better.
On the whole it’s been a good day for men’s fashion. I loved Rei Kawakubo’s subtle blend of masculine tailoring and clichéd feminine glamour for Comme des Garçons, using bright shades of pink and black lace to put the idea across. I say subtle because the pink, as vivid as it was, didn’t seem overplayed. The shapes remained classics, like a pink knee-length shirt worn under a double-breasted coat in a dark red and pink micro check, with just the hem of the shirt showing. She also showed a cotton knit version. A black lace tailcoat appeared with a long black lace T-shirt and slim cropped pants. And I liked the idea of slashing the fronts of shrunken cotton jackets to suggest pockets.
Riccardo Tisci opened his Givenchy show with crisp boxy skirts and square-cut tops exploding with bird of paradise prints. The prints appeared on suits and shorts as well, and the details of the flower, far from being pretty or sweet, had the sharpness of knife blades. With some looks, I wasn’t even sure it was a flower but possibly an insect. Anyway, Mr. Tisci got the most out of the print, and he was just as forceful with suits, in solid white and mint green, shown with blunt, thick-soled sandals. As much as I liked his fall collection, this one felt cooler, more sophisticated — thanks to the heft of the suits.