Not one for highfalutin fashion concepts, Officine Générale’s founder and creative director Pierre Mahéo is a designer who refuses to get distracted by the noise. As one of the most compelling players in the affordable luxury segment, he has a good thing going. “Is it necessary, in our era and in order to survive, to reinvent a brand so often and so dramatically in order to the point of disrupting the core DNA?” he pondered in the show notes.
Mahéo, who also folded in a few silhouettes from the brand’s fledgling women’s line, nonetheless ticked off a number of the season’s trends with elegant spins on tracksuit tops, and workwear and military staples, including field jackets dusted with an abstract camouflage. But the brand’s point of difference remains its French-touch, put-togetherness.
In the mix were textured sailor stripe knits, five-pocket Japanese denim, fitted perfectos in grainy leather, blousons in shirting weights, and shorts in bottle-green gingham seersucker. Awakening the anchor palette of white and lovely deep blues was a sprinkling of summery washed hues like lilac and olive. Details included graphic piping accents and self-belts.
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The designer had coined his own term for the collection’s standpoint, “beautiful normality,” which was pretty spot on.
See More From the Men’s 2018 Collections:
Hermès Men’s Spring 2018: Véronique Nichanian jumped on the streetwear bandwagon with shiny track pants, oversized hoodies and parkas in technical fabrics.
Balmain Men’s Spring 2018: Olivier Rousteing took his bow in a deep-V Breton wrap sweater, and worked many of those French standards into his typically jazzy lineup.
Dior Homme Men’s Spring 2018: Kris Van Assche, who is celebrating a decade at the helm, paid homage to the know-how of the brand with a new Christian Dior Atelier label.
Sacai Men’s Spring 2018: The overall mood was cleaner and more graphic with the slogan looks telegraphing an ultra clean, preppy-punk vibe.
Berluti Men’s Spring 2018: As he did for his debut collection, Ackermann showed a handful of looks on female models such as Liya Kebede and Stella Tennant.