PARIS, Jan 26, 2001/ --- With the Europe collections invaded by military themes, Marc Jacobs at Louis Vuitton was one designer who carefully avoided this new fashion front.

The only military touches in the salon-style presentation in a giant French glass house Friday were slim shoulder flaps, or jackets in cavalry twill. If anything, the Vuitton man this season is a neo-romantic gentleman, who insists on wearing only the finest fabrics: moleskins, alpaca, camel hair, whipcord, goat leather and lots of cashmere.

One of Jacobs’ strengths is tweaking classic ideas, like black leather pea coats with red trimmed buttonholes, or bold stripy shirts worn under high-necked sweatshirts.

Jacobs was also not afraid to break a few style conventions. He paired cashmere leggings with a sweater and topcoat, for his entrepreneurial customers’ foreign travel. Will men start wearing Jacobs’ grandpa shirts under vests and short jackets? Perhaps if they’re as well-made as the cashmere silk ideas with Western collars he dreamt up.

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton