Five menswear trends from Paris men's fashion week

After a three-week menswear marathon taking in London, Milan and Paris, the fashion world is busy taking stock of the new men's trends for spring/summer 2018. Menswear will have a generally positive, colorful, and even quirky vibe next summer, with shorts and Bermuda shorts matched with either sportswear or retro-inspired pieces. Socks are the unexpected accessory of the season, as worn with pool slides.

Retro chic
Lots of fashion houses explored the 1980s trend for spring/summer 2018, including Balenciaga, with its high-waist pants and retro parkas, and Andrea Crews, revealing the fruit of a partnership with New Man, a brand associated with the 1980s. The trend is channeled in cuts and in the way in which clothes are worn, but also with prints and patterns, bigger than ever on men's shirts for SS18.

A sportswear touch
This is the key trend of the season. Even the chicest of labels, which usually focus on highly sophisticated creations, channeled sporty vibes for spring/summer 2018. Dior Homme, Lanvin and Hermès all got onboard the trend, successfully mixing elegance and sportswear with style. Valentino's collection was almost entirely activewear themed. More generally, collections featured plenty of oversized pieces, performance clothing and details from the world of sport.

An exotic wardrobe
Labels including Louis Vuitton, Balenciaga, Christian Dada and Paul Smith whisked menswear away to exotic lands during the Parisian shows, which took place during a sweltering heatwave. Previously seen in London and Milan, there were exotic motifs aplenty on the Paris runway with flowers and palm trees in sunny shades, with red, orange and yellow evoking a tropical sunset.

Stripes
After being spotted on the catwalks of London and Milan, stripes confirmed their status as a summer trend at the Paris shows. As well as exotic motifs, the SS18 menswear shows featured lots of more graphic, even geometric, prints. Whether vertical, horizontal or diagonal, stripes were everywhere, seen on suits, shirts and sweaters, in color or in black and white. Although mostly the thin pinstripe variety, labels like Balmain showed stripes with thicker bands. Stripes were spotted at Kenzo, Balenciaga, Louis Vuitton, Comme des Garçons Homme Plus, Andrea Crews and Henrik Vibskov.

Sock central
Watch out for socks in SS18. Noticeably present in the season's shows, socks were rocked with sandals (sometimes platforms) or pool slides, and sleek city socks were seen with Bermuda shorts, which are also set to make a comeback next summer. This quirky trend was spotted at Henrik Vibskov, Louis Vuitton and Pigalle Paris.