Cool TM Men’s Spring 2021
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For his debut on the official Paris men’s fashion week calendar, Cool TM designer Thomas Monet showed an upbeat, grunge-tinged lineup infused with bourgeois references, presenting them in an entertaining 360-degree film, best viewed through 3-D glasses.
It starts with Monet leading the audience into the space where the action takes place — a photo shoot. Wearing baggy jeans and a lightweight animal print shirt, Monet breezes out from the street, and heads onto the set, pulls off the hot pink cap holding down his long, wispy hair and plops it on the first model.
The models have a slightly tousled look — wearing wrinkled and ripped T-shirts under pastel suit jackets, baggy jeans with rips or loosely cut trousers. Dressier looks came in the form of silky dresses — rearranged with gatherings and slits — and tweed suit jackets. Adding a feminine touch, many had fabric roses pinned to their jackets, the label’s embrace of gender fluidity worn as a badge. Unfinished seams, lace panels and fringes further softened the looks, channeling gentler forms of rebellion and flamboyancy, and laced with humor.
Dog Town skaters and Kurt Cobain were references — but Monet took their styles to higher ground, combining his French design sensibility with the American influence.
“Kurt Cobain had a way of assuming his differences in a way that didn’t feel disguised — it showed his sensitivity and depth,” Monet said in a phone call.
The place is cluttered with stage hands and models, a scene taken in by a slouched viewer munching popcorn. Moving at a nice clip — there’s a lot of action to take in, with props being moved around, models posing or breaking out into dance. Viewers can swivel around with their 3-D glasses — which handily hold a mobile phone for screening. Taking in the background, viewers see playful details, like finding a makeup artist waving a brush over their face.
In a sea of propositions over the screen this season, Cool TM’s presentation comes as a pick-me-up — the lineup and its delivery are sure to find a welcoming audience.
Launch Gallery: Cool TM Men's Spring 2021
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