Hot and sticky fashionistas drooled over the menswear line sent out by Louis Vuitton in Paris on Thursday, a marine-themed look that sent a cool breeze wafting through the sweltering French capital.
With Paris suddenly labouring under a flash spell of humid heat -- after weeks of drear and chill -- the fashion pack visibly strained to stay stylish as they criss-crossed the capital for the second of five days of menswear shows.
All the more at Vuitton where the oceanic freshness of the look was a world away from the groaning heat inside the packed venue.
The brand's menswear designer Kim Jones took his cue from "that classic cliche of fashion" -- the nautical theme -- revisiting the genre in a succession of looks that swept from sporty yachtsman to explorer, surfer to fisherman.
Waxed yellow raincoats were reworked as roomy hooded jackets, or as an outsized weekend bag, while a navy bodywarmer pulled off the unlikely trick of looking both sexy and exactly like a lifejacket.
Body-hugging T-shirt and shorts combos were a direct nod to a surfer's wetsuit, with stripes of fluo set against navy, while warning-light fluo flashes also cropped up on technical jacket-and-bermuda suits with bulky rucksacks.
A fishing net-inspired series worked a rugged patchwork fabric into blue jackets, shirts and bermuda shorts -- with the sea also in small details like a silver and rope rigging pins, mother-of-pearl flag charms or an anchor earring.
