Monsieur Lacenaire is quality French menswear brand which has been making high-end urban streetwear since 2011. In the SS17 collection, for which we visited the presentation you can see here below, the general theme was dubbed La Flânerie Parisienne, which translates as a Parisian stroll. Are you the type who likes loitering (not a crime in Paris), strolling, sauntering, lounging, dawdling, moseying, or loafing about – then indeed you would be welcome in Paris as this is one of the most Parisian of all qualities – provided you understand the art of conversation of course – and if you know how to dress well and present yourself properly. Thus enter Monsieur Lacenaire to dress you for summer so you will feel comfortable, youthful, sporty, and of course decontracté – which means easy-going or just relaxed.

So indeed this must be the first time that BDMOTP had witnessed a presentation where the theme was based upon the simplicity of what is called REST. Rest in a chair. Lounge away. Take a seat. Don’t hurry. And of course, if you want to, lay down. In Monsieur Lacenaire of course.

So how did designer Brecht Evans from Belgium express this very simple yet interesting theme for the brand? Well, as all Parisians know who love their city parks, there are two parks in particular which are more beautiful than all others in the city, and that is because they were formed and shaped by André le Nôtre himself – le Jardinier du Roi, the gardener of the king. And as it so happens these two gardens are very well kept and still exist in their original state, one being the Jardin de Luxembourg in front of the French senate, the other one les Jardins des Tuileries in front of the Louvre. Indeed these two are virtual enclaves and enclosures of REST in what is otherwise a bustling sprawling and busy metropolis.

So Brecht Evans went to the Jardin de Tuileries and took the dreamy image of the boats that are floated there daily by kids in the central pond of the park; he took the image of the lounge chairs that are standing all around in these gardens freely for people to take a rest or a break; and aye, he took on the pastel colors which summer clouds bring when kids play about in these parks. And that is in all its simplicity the central theme of this quality collection for Monsieur Lacenaire SS17.

Rather remarkably this Proustian reverie and dream world indeed still exists today even in the age of terrorism – so thank god! Toy boats gently floating on the waves of the pond. Gazing at the summer clouds. A small amusement park for the children not far off in the Tuileries. Flowers. More clouds. More flowers. Beautiful ladies trotting the terraces. People chatting and talking. Birds flying carelessly about. Stretched out lawns where it is not forbidden to sit. Patchwork shirts and linen trousers we wear, we are young and care free, and we have no worries. We lounge, loiter, and walk about telling our friends whatever comes to mind. In Monsieur Lacenaire of course, a quality menswear for those à la recherche of the quality of life du temps perdu.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Posted by Sandro and photos from Monsieur Lacenaire press.