Wales Bonner Menswear S/S 2026 Paris

[vogue28]

VOGUE.COM

 

[Phuel]

The leather/suede tone-on-tone duster is solid. As are the suitings. Her brand of plaintive, easygoing old-school Adidas-y sweatpants worn with Sunday-best buttondown and sweater vest possesses more authenticity, soul and charm than anything Miuccia/Raf/Pharrell could every dream to conjure for their phoney quirkiness in 2025.

And she must have hired a (new) stylist because there’s actually some electricity pulsating with the proposals. Unfortunate the cast is so gormless, even downright crackhead scary.

Thanks for posting the stills @vogue28 I like Grace but can't imagine sitting through her showing.

 

[Avonlea]

With her work, I always have this feeling that I am supposed to like it, but I never do. It's just pretty clothes. While they probably look great in stores, they create a forgettable collection. Is a show really necessary for her, especially one in Paris? Maybe Milan would make more sense.

 

[Phuel]

^^^ That’s how I feel about current-day Yohji.

Paris is so desperate for her brand of urban cool. Grace is the multicultural, effortless cool confidence of Nina Simone to Margaret Howell’s blue blood WASPy icy coolness of Grace Kelly. She’s making a decent stride to power up to the next level, as low-key as it may be. Thank goodness there's not another Adidas-collab shoehorned in.

 

[oioioi]

Her CSM graduate collection was built around her graduate year thesis which was based on african identities and culture so the fabrics, textures, casting and photography are the bi-product of those studies, and that's literally what we get. Because beyond those elements it's hard to grasp silhouettes or some type of bigger statement in a directional way.

 

[Alquimista]

the casting is a whole thick substantial choice.

 

[Fiercification]

This is decent for what Wales Bonner is aiming for, brand and audience wise. I like her clothes on the whole although she's not doing anything to push the fashion conversation forward (very few are). As Phuel says, the high-low mix feels very genuine and I can appreciate staying true to oneself even if it doesn't equal any excitement design wise.

 

[Phuel]

Her CSM graduate collection was built around her graduate year thesis which was based on african identities and culture so the fabrics, textures, casting and photography are the bi-product of those studies, and that's literally what we get. Because beyond those elements it's hard to grasp silhouettes or some type of bigger statement in a directional way.

Interesting.

I do see her maturity from her earlier collections: Her classic 1970s American Crooklyn and 1960s British Guyanese immigrant dandies are sleeker, more sophisticated, with a more complete look this time around. I understand why she can be disappointing since her collections never look complete, never seemed fully realized or never achieved a full vision, to a satisfactory conclusion. And she seems to make great efforts to eschew the fashiony tropes of embellishments: beadings, embroideries, paillettes/sequins and all sorts of magpie-overcompensating finishes that often mask rather unpleasant designs— like Julian’s Rabanne. She’s a seamstress with solid tailoring skills who designs very modest, simple, sartorial separates for everydaywear. She’s not a showwoman with showpieces for red carpet, editorialbait, or the high life. That she’s included some very solid jackets and suitings layered over her reliable buttondowns and sweater vests is almost outrageous at how personal it all looks (like Sharon Wauchob’s modest offerings)s at a time when collections are overrun with 100 looks of basic merch and/or desperate circuswear.

 

[Lola701]

There’s something very MiuMiu styled by Katie Grand about it.
The cut is great but I actually think that her collections should be more formal. It’s really difficult to nail the « everyday look ». AMI does it well.
Here, there’s too much of a gap between the tracksuits and the tuxedos. And the result is that the more casual looks brings the whole thing down.

 

[susseinmcswanny]

the multicultural, effortless cool confidence of Nina Simone to Margaret Howell’s blue blood WASPy icy coolness of Grace Kelly

… is that true ? I wish I could see that but I don’t. Maybe I’ll try to look into her more and give her a chance. I know I’m adhd but at face value I don’t see anything about her style that’s intriguing enough to make me wonder anything about who those people are, what they do, where they go, what music they listen to, etc.

 

[Kanzai]

With her work, I always have this feeling that I am supposed to like it, but I never do. It's just pretty clothes. While they probably look great in stores, they create a forgettable collection. Is a show really necessary for her, especially one in Paris? Maybe Milan would make more sense.

It's a menswear fashion week though, so many new international designers from Japan, US and South Korea etc have slots in the calender. She definitely has the authority to be there lol, I mean they even have the bland guys like Amiri and Ami there.

 

[hamburgers]

I wish she would sell out and go to Loewe.

I like her offering, but it doesn’t feel complete enough to survive as a niche independent brand and too dependent on the Adidas contract.

 

[kasper!]

There’s something very MiuMiu styled by Katie Grand about it.

Yes and choice of shoe is very Miu Miu too.....Feels like Liu Liu (Miu Miu from London)

 

[oioioi]

She’s a seamstress with solid tailoring skills who designs very modest, simple, sartorial separates for everydaywear.

She is actually closer to a 'creative director' in her process, her graduate collection was womens 2nd hand items she bought from charity shops, those pieces were traced for their pattern in 1-2 sizes smaller and sewn/produced by a factory - the decision making and eye was already there for her to start her own thing.
She has a great eye for the narration and story building and it all links really well as a 360 story to her brand, its about the slight flare or kick of the trouser, their slightly cropped length, the dry hand of the linen shirt. I think currently a lot of people want something more authentic or some type of community aspect to wearing that item (a bit like what Adidas Sambas were 2 years ago etc) and she serves that.

 

[Cocteau Stone]

I’m always waiting for her collections to really go there, but they never really do. I can’t explain it, but it’s not a matter of expectations when seeing the clothes because they are done well, it’s a matter of elevation.

Maybe that’s the charm of it. It makes it more approachable and maybe more grounded for some. I don’t know though, I wish she could just push it a bit further and be a little less sartorial in parts and find that perfect balance with wit.