French fancies: the two sides of Parisian men's style

President Macron, himself no slouch in the style stakes thanks to his nipped-in, classic suits, was thoroughly shown up recently on a visit to China. His mathematics expert Cedric Villani instead garnered the lion’s share of the attention thanks to his rather opulent Les Liaisons dangereuses get-up.

The respected mathematician wore a plush silk bow tie cravat (an 18th century hybrid, unfurling down the chest) in papal silk with a high-collared shirt, a brooch on his lapel and pocket watch chain gleaming on his waistcoat.

A Google Image search confirms this is his go-to daily attire; very Vicomte de Valmont and a great deal more interesting than another navy suit. Vive La France in that case, I say.

The world of French style is peppered with formidable men who have cut a cloth less familiar. Serge Gainsbourg in his narrow suits and spread collars, never snapped not smoking; Alain Delon as a young man, the living embodiment of ‘immaculate’; or the controversial philosopher Bernard Henri Levy in his early years, meeting the then-President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in the 1970s wearing a slashed-to-the-navel shirt, as one does when meeting the country’s most powerful political figure.

Maison Kitsuné Parisien T-shirt, ￡35, endclothing.com

Alongside the stately and upright echelons of French style - the Charvet tailoring and ties that have outfitted everyone from the Duke of Windsor to Jean Cocteau - there’s always been a touch of the renegade and the individualist in how our Gallic brothers dress.

This is all the more apparent at the biannual Paris men’s fashion week, underway right now in the (freezing, for what it’s worth) capital.

All eyes were on Louis Vuitton as its head of menswear Kim Jones bids farewell in what was his final show; the designer is arguably the best men’s fashion talent working today and has realigned this most traditional of French houses with a new kind of Rive Gauche ease. The narrow suits of Gainsbourg and co have given way to soft structure coats and loose layers.

Rain coat, ￡199, Sandro

Which isn’t to say that tailoring has been cast by the wardrobe side. At Dior Homme, designer Kris Van Assche has preoccupied himself in the peerless Dior ateliers adjusting proportions for how to make suiting relevant today (topped off with punk boots, anyone?). 

Also alongside those grand boulevards and regal squares, an energetic menswear scene is thriving; new label Atelier Neutre makes its debut this fashion week, and Officine Générale - recently launched in London - is one of the fashion set's go-to brands for great, minimalist shirts and jackets. It’s time to form a sartorial Entente Cordiale.