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Xavier Delcour: For Men Only - A Name to Watch
By: Timothy Hagy
Photos by Javier Mateo
Paris, Jul 2, 2002/ FW/ --- Sunday afternoon in Paris can be a tiring experience owing to
antiquated blue laws that the last vestiges of the socialist system imposed.
Not a store can be open without a special permit, and so the city comes to a necessary
hiatus while the world around moves on.
It was turning out to be another one of those tedious days, when along came Xavier Delcour
with a fantastic, sexy collection "for Men Only" presented mid-afternoon.
The modest sized space in the Carousel du Louvre was spliced in two by a mesh, see-through
screen, forcing the models to walk around it, two at a time in opposite directions.
The show was set to music building like a classical symphony, and accompanying a collection
that began, continued and ended in black and white.
There were some satin finished suits, razor-sharp leather vests, and numerous belts and
chains whose message was clear.
The cross and skull bone design found prominently displayed upon buckles and shirt fronts
was an unnecessary confirmation of the obvious.
The models were teenagers, long hair pulled down over their faces, eyes painted in heavy black.
Midway through the show, the dulcet tones of polyphony were overtaken by a loud buzz that
eventually morphed into a symphonic meltdown.
A single blonde, shirtless in black tights which clung precariously close to his male-only
anatomy, a "cut here" sign tattooed on his throat, came out with scissors to splice the
mesh screen asunder.
On the left, was a finale of models, torsos nude in black tights, all sporting various
overblown necklaces dangling with horseshoes, silver balls and other apparatus.
While on the right, a series of black satin jackets worn above the same molded tights
declined in a long row.
It was reminiscent of a game of shirts and skins on opposite sides of the circumcised net,
and made a sexy finish to a powerful show.
Xavier Delcour is a young, energetic designer with a promising career, and he has rightly
been compared to Hedi Slimane, who he follows into the world of masculine Haute Couture.
His clothes have the same kind of sensual appeal, the same sharpness, the same savoir faire.
And that is where the similarity ends. Delcour's style is more direct, less refined, and
too heavily anchored in Gothic.
He's a name to watch, though, and next season should bring another treat for his growing
list of fans.
Xavier Delcour
Xavier Delcour
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