Les Hommes (Q5012)
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Les Hommes is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Les Hommes |
Les Hommes is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
1995
creative designer
1995
creative designer
For Spring, the Les Hommeshommeis a city-slick fan of American Western influences—tanned leather and Native American references aplenty. When the designers, Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch, said that “Navajo” patterns were an inspiration, it made this (U.S.-born) writer hesitate: Appropriation versus appreciation is still a contested topic, and levels of its tolerance, on one side versus the other, no doubt vary by geography. That being said, the “Navajo” graphics to which the duo alluded appeared mainly as surface details, and not overwhelmingly so. But still . . . in that wake, parts of this collection felt arguably un-woke.Other less referential pieces were far more successful. For one: Drop-crotch python-print pants were new, and, while not for everyone, will make for some interesting styling options. For another: leather fringed jackets, which had fine metal grommet detailing from the shoulder blades to the tassels. And lastly, the sunglasses were a significant highlight—big, flat, sexy shields that seemed to flatter every model’s face. A tricky thing to do with eyewear.
16 June 2018
Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch used medieval armor as the starting point for their latest lineup. Spring was inspired by samurai armor, so they seem to have decided the subject is working for them. They mentioned mining for references at the Metropolitan Museum of Art so that the overskirts and decorative ring details that they’ve integrated into suiting and sportswear are properly rooted in designs realized centuries ago. Of course, this being Les Hommes, their interpretation struck moreThe Matrix–meets–heavy metal than literally medieval, with their myriad don’t-mess-with-me looks reflecting a wardrobe for their idealized dark knight. One of the more convincing ways of making him look extra protected was the repeated use of quilted leather; needless to say, it will be infinitely suppler than iron. The chevron-like stitching projected well, whether as their answer to the breastplate or as gym shorts over leggings. Health goths needing formal attire may want to take note.For better or worse, the designers are getting good at being consistent; a fair amount of the collection felt déjà vu, modified only to meet seasonal needs. But if the edgy embroideries and camouflage suiting have already proven successful for the designers, why pivot so soon? The grouping in bottle green qualified as new, and it’s reasonable to think Les Hommes’s most loyal men would welcome a brief respite from black. Will they make the leap to a lip clip? Hopefully not. But in the absence of actual armor, it gives off that vibe.
15 January 2018
In April, Les Hommes opened a flagship in Beijing—the first of several planned boutiques in China to optimize the brand’s following there. Not coincidentally, this latest collection doubled down on Asian influences, which allowed designers Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch to rethink their signature sense of underworld polish. Their research into ancient samurai armor materialized as intricately laced leather pieces, often layered as sleeves under shirts or leggings under shorts. As a flaunting exercise, this was more compelling than a logo. Meanwhile, spotted jacquard sportswear, beaded suiting, and embroidered dragon motifs offered further proof that the designers take an ultra-elevated approach to their urban aesthetic. Their collaboration with New York jeweler Chris Habana on razor blade earrings and mouthpieces like zombie bling seemed largely gratuitous. Then again, it only takes the right pop star in search of an alternative red carpet statement to make something like the latter a must-have.Perhaps owing to the day’s oppressive heat, or else because black is so predictable for the brand, the shift to limestone and cool white proved a refreshing twist. Within this grouping, the oversized vests, martial arts–inspired pants and skirt overlays demonstrated the new wardrobe essentials needed to achieve world dominance. Okay, that’s a stretch. But there’s no escaping the fact that the hyper-masculinity of these silhouettes—from the strong shoulders down to the sneakers with their swollen laced-and-velcro straps—is aimed at a certain type of alpha male. When the designers mentioned how wearing Les Hommes is a deliberate choice, it was as though they were suggesting that dressing this way shields some authentic aspect of the self.
17 June 2017
Asked which look best summarized their vision of this collection, creative directors Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch landed on No. 10, with its advanced-level hybrid layering: sweatshirt over dress shirt, and half-skirt over long johns, finished off with a detachable shearling collar and opera-length flight gloves. With a mission to merge aviator and punk, the Belgian designers assembled an offering that went full throttle on attention-grabbing embellishments and antihero attitude. Essentially, it conjured up agents fromThe Matrixforming a band funded by the scions of oligarchs. Fictional to the extreme, perhaps, but it was impossible to separate any of the high-octane suiting and sportswear from the likely reality that anyone who dresses in it will want to appear intimidating and neo-riche.Perception aside, the execution of 3-D metal embroidery, glam goth studs, and novelty fabric (in particular, the puzzled arrow jacquard) all conveyed keen attention to distinctive details. And those elements no doubt attract a certain intrepid dresser season after season. “We lift up people,” said Vandebosch, with Notte adding, “We make them feel good.” And yet, if the duo dialed back their style just slightly—fewer gratuitous parachute straps, say—they could arrive at a look that reads a bit more grounded.
14 January 2017
It could have been the Art Deco relief on a last-century city building. Or perhaps it was some ancient Inca motif. Really, it could have been anything. The pattern that ran through this Les Hommes collection, an irregular grid of angled black lines, sometimes shaded, sometimes drawn with stark simplicity, came unburdened by symbolism. What lent it weight was the imagination—and simultaneous restraint—with which it was incorporated by Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch. Sometimes it zigged across matching mohair outerwear knits, their volume ramped up. Sometimes it zagged as the imprinted molding on sleek leather bombers. Blown up, its vectors flashed at the shoulders of baggily chested neoprene sweatshirts. Shrunken, it angled through a silvery slim-fit suit.Around this decorative thread, Notte and Vandebosch wove an uncontroversially attractive suite of roomy wool parkas and bombers, bi-textured leather jackets, highish-hemmed fitted pants, and the occasional leather biker legging. Their silhouettes were often defined by roominess, but the details within were precise and close—narrow ties, collars, and tiepins worn above high-necked undershirts. These seemed clothes for severe individualists. They made a virtue of presenting what at first glance seemed relatively unremarkable, finely executed standards but in which, after a moment's processing, there is often something—that pattern, a stiff sheen to those sweatshirts, atypical volume at untypical spots—to snag back the eye for a second look. Not unlike the models' fetching on-the-side quiffs.
10 February 2015
Street and suit, the two poles of menswear, are forever getting mixed at the men's shows. The mischievous impulse is too strong. So it was at Les Hommes. "We wanted to reexplore all the different iconic pieces of menswear," explained Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch, "and on top of that, merge with something new, from street style: the T-shirt and the bomber. We wanted to make it a formal essential in the wardrobe."They layered leather T-shirts into suits, leather bomber jackets over shirts and ties, and slicked the tails of jackets with skin. Elsewhere, lilies bloomed over suits, jackets, and sweaters, undercutting the more sober silhouettes. In recent seasons, Les Hommes has followed its more avant-garde instincts a bit too far afield. Spring marked a happy return to a place of greater comfort: dark, slick tailoring that's made fans like Karl Lagerfeld. He's often worn it to take his runway bows. And so did Notte and Vandebosch. Designer knows best.
21 June 2013
Les Hommes' Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch had a mission statement for their new collection: increase the elegance. They arrived at their destination viaThe Damned, Visconti's epic treatment of a family's decline and fall set against the rise of the Third Reich. "Berlin in the thirties was a clash between creativity, elegance, and militarism," they said after the show. Plus, they added, "We love velvet."Velvet, surprisingly or not, has been spotted all over on Milan's opening day. So have the longer, more slithery suits the Hommes put forward: double-breasted and wasp-waisted, though theirs were distinguished by long, wide trousers below. That can be a challenging proportion, but Notte and Vandebosch insisted that a customer is waiting. "In Europe, it's definitely a winner."They're far from the first to look to thirties Germany for an infusion of doom-haunted glamour. Why or wherefrom duster-length capes, a puffa bolero, or a half-plisséd ball skirt wandered into the mix was anyone's guess. On balance, the elegance decreased.
11 January 2013
Les Hommes' designing partners, Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch, were thinking about the moment when today meets tradition. So far, so good. Their Spring collection repatriated the tuxedo to the closets of the young and fabulous—with, naturally, a twist, which is where things took a turn. Their efforts to age down a staple gave the lot a camp factor that didn't telegraph elegance, their stated theme. Cases for the cummerbund included pairing one with a tank top or shorts. Overruled. As they coasted away from the formal, their collection picked up steam. There were good specimens among the shirting and the sporty suiting, but a clearer edit would've brought them more to light.
22 June 2012
Les Hommes are back, and not in black. After several seasons showing by appointment, Tom Notte and Bart Vandebosch returned their line to the runway. And while these designers usually favor the kind of dark hues that have made Karl Lagerfeld a fan, today brought a sudden shock of color. "It's really a moment for us to explore color. We need some fun," the duo explained. Never mind that Milan, at least so far, has gone out of its way to embrace a more somber palette, led by Raf Simons and his fantasia of black leather. These twohommeswere bent on teal and cranberry.They'd been thinking of Peruvian dressing, "high in the mountains," they said, trekkers bundled up above the waist and spindly below. It made for a kind of Montana moment: Models swaddled in layers of chunky, multicolored knits veined with loose cables resembling double helixes, topped off with scarves and, as often as not, more sweaters. The knits piled on top of suit pants sometimes, but the whole thing made more sense when they came atop python jeans, or Milan's umpteenth leather pant of the day. This isn't a look to go halfway with. In for a penny, in for a pound, as they say—which almost, in a funny way, explained the vaguely revolutionary berets the models wore, and the pirouette spins a few executed mid-catwalk.The line's new stylist, Jodie Barnes, lent a bonkers coherence to the lot. And left-field as the collection may have felt—both for Les Hommes and for Fall '12 so far—it had its feet securely on the ground. "It's the ultimate shopping experience," Vandebosch said. "It's all aboutgarments."
13 January 2012