Fall 2013 Menswear: Dior Homme and the Illuminati.

This show was very important to me for two reasons:

1. Ferociously minimalist suits. 
2. Fucken ILLUMINATI, YOU GUYS:

Ferociously minimalist suits are a major area of interest to me. From what I've seen so far, the extremely pared-down, knife-smooth suit is a main fixture this season -- and before you point out that at least 50% of Menswear Fashion Week is always grey suits: yes. I know. I'm aware that this distinction isn't necessarily important to everyone, but I tend to home in on every infinitesimal alteration made to the overal generic suit pattern. And as for the whole Illuminati thing: read on.

pics from Style.com

For whatever reason, Illuminati-inspired triangles are everywhere at the moment. Look up "Illuminati" on Tumblr, and half the tag is full of hipster teens taking pictures of themselves making triangle symbols with their hands. Ke$ha's latest music video was a mess of triangle/Illuminati imagery. There is even a subReddit for triangle enthusiasts. Dior Homme has taken this idea to its cleanest, most formalised extreme, with a single geometric pattern emblazoned across the chest and arms of several outfits in this season's show.

Compared to the severity of the rest of this collection, the simple red or white lines of the triangle/circle pattern seemed almost garish. The pinstripes on Dior Homme's suits were so slim as to be practically invisible, and anything so ostentatious as a necktie was exchewed in favour of a tiny, airplane-seatbelt style buckle. Although there were relatively few alterations made to the classic menswear suit silhouette, the fabric, accessories (or lack thereof) and ultra-narrow cut made these outfits seem like a very distant relative to the suits one sees in everyday life.

The creases and pinstripes on these trousers will be the death of me. Truly, I overidentify way too much with the protagonists of Jon Armstrong's Grey, a cyberpunk/sci-fi novel about minmalist suit enthusiasts.

There was something almost inhuman about the cleanliness of this show. Even the models wearing warm-weather gear looked as if they might not have a natural pulse, or were crafted entirely from plastic. And as we'll see in future posts, this is actually a popular theme among several other Menswear Fashion Week shows this season.