PARIS, Jul 2, 2006/ FW/ --- After the slick commercial edge of Milan fashion week it’s always nice to come back to Paris and be challenged by the designers who put creativity before everything. Some labels approach their collections with an ‘attitude,’ which is the fashion world’s equivalent of, ‘publish and be damned’ and Wendy and Jim definitely fall into this category.

What we got today was a mixture of styles that ranged form sixties mod to industrial strength techno-goth and covered quite a few bases in-between. The first exit of could have been conventional enough with a sensible grey suit with a rounded mandarin style collar that is sometimes attributed to The Beatles.

It was somehow off kilter however, strange and not a little warped. Maybe it was the model with his incongruous hair and peculiar gate, maybe it was the trousers which were more sprayed on than tight, or maybe it was the t-shirt tied around the waist giving the impression of a suit worn with a skirt. So maybe it was lots of things but the effect was of the familiar rendered strange and distorted.

All of this made the next look slightly disorientating by its ordinariness, appearing as an inoffensive, vaguely eighties style suit with a stripped tie in the mildest of pinks. Perhaps sometimes we have to look a little more closely for the twist and here it came in the form of thin plastic shoes that seemed to wrap the feet in a membrane of shinny black PVC.

The interesting forms and constructions continued with a toweling wrap-around top that resembled a long sleeved T-shirt but with a broad band turned around the torso and up, over the shoulder like a kilt – or perhaps that should be straightjacket?

This form was repeated later with bright pink sleeves and an image of the shows pin-up boy, Marilyn Manson, splashed across the chest. His appearance almost necessitated a turn towards the darker side and so as the music became a little harder it was no surprise that we got looks of emaciated black jeans and shapeless jumpers, studiously torn and delicately faded.

Wendy and Jim may not be to everyone’s taste but they are never, ever boring.

Wendy & Jim Menswear

Wendy & Jim Menswear

Wendy & Jim Menswear

Wendy & Jim Menswear