Several years after writing this article, we are still very interested in volume variations and deconstructed looks. Here for the update !
Hello, you learned this month that the BonneGueule forum has been open again... for several months. Yes, we hid it from you ^^. So to make up for it (and to make you want to take a look at our men's fashion forum ), here is an article on silhouettes directly inspired by the best of what we have read on... the forum.
It was written by 8 hands: mine, those of Antoine and Guillaume, two forumers as active as they are enlightened. And by Gill of course...
Fitted silhouettes: okay, but then?
We often talk to you about this piece or that one, how to choose it, and therefore most often about the fit.
Does the shoulder seam, the semi-slim fit, everything that Benoît and Geoffrey constantly tell you about (and rightly so, it's the basics anyway!) remind you of anything ? I hope so ! But now, all this makes us lose sight of the other aspect of fashion, not this or that piece, which will do that, but rather the general result.
We start by knocking open doors :
When we start to dress better, this is what we will inevitably aim for:
As a general rule, Scandinavian fashion provides us with something very fitted. For example, Filippa K. and Bruuns Bazaar. The silhouettes are very well defined; All the pieces are well chosen and the finish is good. In Copenhagen, all the fashionistas wear very fitted pants, bordering on leggings that they tuck into their boots or make hems big enough to stop, without stacking them on top of high-top sneakers.
This is the all-fitted silhouette, established by Hédi Slimane when he took the reins of Dior. As a reminder, Dior in the years 2005-2006 was this:
And that's what's on the streets now: democratized slims and the era of the metrosexual, what everyone talks to us about, but no one sees what it is.
Edit : while writing the article, we learned that Hedi Slimane is returning to creative work (he has not done design since his contract at Dior Homme ended in July 2007) to take the helm of the artistic direction of the Yves Saint Laurent house.
So let's start again: the fully fitted silhouette is good and it's even essential to master before attempting the next step. But how common is that... that's all we see! It lacks a little salt, personality and testosterone.
What is loose fitting?
Loose-fitting means wearing clothes that give you freedom of movement, without making you sacks of potatoes . The idea behind it is to combine comfort (no shirt buttons ready to explode / jacket that threatens to crack under the armpits or in the back) with style, and to find a balance between the two.
Scalpel cuts, the bending of a jacket, and the delicate construction of costumes cut like sushi sheets, it's cool. But the loose fit, once you get a taste of it, allows you to rediscover more natural sensations of comfort. At first you may find it ugly because the proportions are not always respected, and it can give a feeling of neglect when you get used to the rigor of the fitted cuts/silhouettes of Dior during the Slimane era. Or more recently, his Japanese spiritual son, N-Hollywood .
N-Hollywood: fitted suits not really cut out for fat people.
For what body type, you ask me ? Well know that loose-fitting suits everyone. It is in particular a good way to camouflage overweight, hips that are too strong... and at the same time restructure parts of the body that are not defined or muscular enough with fitted and structured pieces (dropped shoulders, thin arms: the blazer is the solution).
But be careful, it's not about wearing clothes that are too big (although it can). Because acquiring style, although it remains above all a question of personality and experience, also depends on the “rigor” of the cuts and “tailor” measurements. For example, I challenge anyone to wear baggy jeans, or something 3 times your size and achieve a decent silhouette.
We can easily draw a parallel with architecture: the aerial constructions made of cardboard tubes by the Japanese Shigeru Ban stand up because they are the result of long experiments on the treatment of materials and their resistance to stress. Try doing the same on a whim, and I won't give a damn about the result.
Japanese pavilion at the Hannover World's Fair... made of cardboard
- Shigeru Ban, 2000
In short, it's the same if you want to dress loose: first reread your classics. Learn to master the fitted silhouette, then experiment little by little.
Dissolve one half of the silhouette (oversized)... to keep the other well defined
A good way to get started with unstructured silhouettes is to first focus on just one part of the silhouette: either the top or the bottom.
Fitted top / loose bottom
If there is one show that left its mark on me, it was Martin Margiela 's Spring-Summer 2011
People didn't talk about it too much but the Margiela collective managed really well with the loose pants but with an incredible fit.
These pants will speak to very few people, and yet they are something really subtle (and complicated to find!). The rendering of the silhouette is aerial, it seems to touch the ground, as if carried by a cloud or a tornado. The blazer and the leather piece on the bust (this is not the lapel of the jacket) redefine the whole and structure it:
In the end we have something that is both elegant, casual and really comfortable.
Other examples of bottoms unstructured by these loose pants from the Margiela team.
In another register, you can combine very wide, even baggy pants with a very fitted shirt. An interesting contrast then appears between the top and the bottom (clothes worn loose sometimes have an interest unsuspected by neophytes). For example, at Dior under Kris Van Asche:
Dior (Kris Van Asche), Fall - Winter 2008
In a slightly more advanced style, we can also look at one of Ann Demeulemeester's latest collections where the bottom is very unstructured, very loose (including the shoes) while the top is rather very fitted (the attentive reader will appreciate the pretty flower in the pocket) :
Ann Demeulemeester, Spring - Summer 2012
Likewise at Rick Owens for the same period (but, but... is it a skirt? I told you it was a little more “advanced”, to wear every day, we forget!).
Rick Owens himself on the left.
Still with the idea of making the bottom more fluid, there is the jodhpur. Trousers worn wide at the thighs which tighten at the calves and ankles. For example, at Galliano. The example is extreme (and not very subtle) but at least you understand the idea (and with that, you look for your keys, your smartphone, your notebook, your pens and everything in your pockets... goodbye to the bag! ).
John Galliano, Autumn - Winter 2012
In a wiser (and more wearable) style we find the idea at Giorgio Armani (SS2012) where the limit between fit and loose is still weaker than above.
Giorgio Armani, Spring - Summer 2012.
Note that the parades have nothing to do with most of the sinking crap
which can be found under the same label.
While browsing Gill's old blog, Sushi is not Maki , I got a real shock when I saw these photos of loose fitting:
I just find it incredibly crazy. CRAZY.
And let's reverse it: loose top / fitted bottom
Maybe you already do it without knowing it from time to time... a slightly sagging cardigan left open or a trench coat that's a bit too big and blurs your proportions are already destructuring the silhouette.
In the spirit, this is what directly breathes a breath of character into your outfit. Here, the opposition is very marked, a little too much I think, in the sense that if I ever see you with schoolboy tights like that, I'll burn you! Especially since speaking of bottom comfort, we have probably seen better...
This loose-fit tension from the bottom to the top is what gives a certain character to the outfit. It is also the most common and undoubtedly the easiest to do as a first approach.
Source: Lookbook by Raimundo H.
Source: Lookbook by Paul G.
Yet another example where looseness is provided by the very large and very fluid scarf. Afterwards we can question the rest... but let's keep the idea of the scarf in mind!
Source: Lookbook.nu by Lucas C.
Unconditional. Here, the notion of loose is different. The sweater is undeniably so, but only in length which completely deconstructs the silhouette: the waist line is lowered, and that's not bad.
Afterwards, if you have small legs for a long torso, it is better to show off by wearing this sweater. It is not always necessarily a question of adjusting the proportions towards an ideal but sometimes of playing with them (note that this requires a certain artistic sensitivity to create a harmonious whole).
In other styles, we can find more subtle tensions between fit/loose. For example, at Dior where the distinction between fit and loose is not so obvious.
Dior, Fall - Winter 2009.
But it's much more so here, with a very fluid top and leggings from Airobic:
Ann Demeulemeester, Autumn - Winter 2011.
More seriously, it is sometimes the coat which brings this note of fluidity to the whole. As at Paul&Joe:
Paul & Joe, Fall - Winter 2012.
But the sweater/cardigan still remains a relatively easy item to have loose. As in this very masterful ensemble from Burberry Prorsum:
Burberry Prorsum, Fall - Winter 2012.
Or in this sweater from B.Scott:
There is always a way to do things much less subtle and much more daring. For example, at Lanvin, (FW2012). The oversized side and its curves offer a fairly interesting mix of fit-loose (but immovable, we agree; again, we only keep the idea!) Note, however, that the approach is no longer quite the same. even...
We are in a very “artistic” approach here.
Total loose does not necessarily rhyme with total loose: be careful of excessively oversized
As we have seen, loose/fit oppositions give good results in looks. This doesn't mean you can't achieve worthwhile looks by blurring the entire figure. But this remains a more delicate exercise, the border between elegant and potato is tenuous!
The Swedish label V Ave SR (Fifth Avenue Shoe Repair) - Fall - Winter 2012.
Without falling into this extreme, here for example is how Benoît (fitted) and I (rather loose) were dressed at the BonneGueule coaching workshop (ps. we are preparing a new one, more accessible!) .
The main idea for making a completely loose-fitting look work is to keep a silhouette defined by its extremities: the head and feet. To achieve this, slightly tapered pants and high-top shoes are your best friends, even if they are not absolutely essential.
B.Scott also offers some very good things from a more streetwear angle:
Yohji Yamamoto is an expert in assembling very loose parts. The result is sometimes stunning. Afterwards, with shoulders like a fighting shrimp or if you're as muscular as a flan, you have to assume the total loose style which quickly risks no longer looking like much...
The pirate version is not the most successful...
More soberly.
Or all in color!
You can even go for very long, which gives a completely loose look while the bottom is still relatively fitted. Like here at Damir Doma:
It's okay, you can catch your breath!
There you go, you know more about loose-fitting. We hope to have made you discover that possibilities also exist outside of clothes cut with a scalpel, and that this has given some ideas. Don't forget that the fit must be mastered before moving towards looser things, you can't invent P. Conticini 's Paris-Brest without mastering the choux pastry! And the best way to progress is to try!
Let's be crazy ! but let’s still respect certain limits 😉
An article written by:
 |
Antoine Cailliau
Guillaume Soudé
Geoffrey
Gill
PS. For more advanced concepts, the third part of our paper book is full of many other stylist techniques, easy to apply on yourself, and devilishly effective.
