Ludovic de Saint Sernin Spring 2020 Menswear

The expanding spectrum of masculine self-expression—the ongoing runway story du saison—needs to be pushed a couple of shades wider, according to Ludovic de Saint Sernin. The young Parisian is a libertarian in a way that is both young—he is outraged that social media censors sexual content—and traditionally French. The reason he called his collection “Wet’n’Wild” was transparently obvious at first sight: first out, walking alongside a conceptual pool atop the Pompidou Centre was a completely see-through white organza suit, shown on a boy. 

Second, a lissome latter-day Kate Moss–alike in a white water-dampened spaghetti-strap slip dress. He then broke the Internet by giving a youth nothing but a beige towel to wear to make his turn around the pool. “Oh, my goodness,” breathed a lady in the audience.

Sander Lak talked to Vogue Runway’s Amy Verner at Sies Marjan about designing knit clothes to give the illusion of nakedness; de Saint Sernin just went for as much actual nakedness as possible. “They’re healthy, beautiful, sexy people,” he said. “Why shouldn’t they show it?”

That’s not to say it was all gimmick. The weather in Paris was sticky, but the clinging white sweaters actually had dégradé trompe l’oeil sweat patches knitted in. He has skills, which he honed at his time at Balmain, in cutting pieces like skimpy taffeta shorts and draping barely there silk dresses without mishap. Only the boy in the heavy Swarovski-crystal mesh bumsters had trouble keeping his modesty covered.

He has some quite impressive fans, too. Rick Owens showed up, so did his former boss Olivier Rousteing. Backstage, de Saint Sernin was telling them that the bath towel was actually knitwear, and that “the underwear has really taken off.”

Well, that makes sense. From the pink man-briefs that were the center of attention under that see-through suit to the satin pajama shorts sets, you could see the attraction—and the affordability for boys and girls alike. It’s an unexpected way to build a fashion brand, from foundations up. But then again, there are no rules anymore. And if there are, young designers like him should be perfectly free to try to break them.

Willy Chavarria Spring 2020 Menswear

Woolmark Prize nominee (and Copenhagen resident) Willy Chavarria returned to the runway circuit for Spring 2020, having skipped the Fall 2019 season. “I mean...summer, scheduling, it was the right time to get back. But I also think it doesn’t necessarily need to be a show, season after season.”

He’s a fringe figure in New York City fashion, and he’s benefitted from keeping an arm’s-length attitude as his profile has grown. With Spring, he went for a “new take” on minimalism, but one that pulled from a transcontinental party scene in the ’90s—particularly a nightclub he used to run in San Francisco called The Love Garage, which would see an influx of a more New York–centric clientele and wardrobe.

“Everything became a little slicker and darker.” Part one of this collection featured long jackets in black satin, mesh shirts in black, generously cut jeans in extra-processed washes, and a top that graphically spelled out “Breaking News,” befitting of...well, the hyper-evolution of the 24-hour news cycle from Chavarria’s chosen timeframe right up to yesterday’s latest Mueller hearing. The second portion of his lineup saw a collaboration with K-Swiss, which Chavarria called an “aspirational brand as a kid growing up in California,” and here the mood turned to late-’80s-workout-video neons and layering. These pieces will sell, but the first half was stronger.

Chavarria’s most notable strength rests in his calibration of queerness and masculinity (especially so when that calibration involves his Chicano background). Yet there is something resolutely femme, too, in the afterburn. He mentioned that gender fluidity doesn’t have to be androgynous or genderless. These clothes had that code in place; satin dressing-room bombers over bare, muscled chests, or cropped boxy shirts as tops, worn with the aforementioned denim.

In some ways, you could see hints of what the men wear on the current hit TV show Pose, though that program takes place a few years earlier than the ’90s. But the look, and its progression, absolutely resonates now. Chavarria is a smart, worldly creative who knows how to be all-inclusive while still carving out his own distinct M.O.; it all feels very true.

Is This the END of Days of Our Lives?!

Cast members of the long-running soap opera jumped in to counter rumors of the show’s demise. Its producers are currently in renewal talks with NBC.Sometimes the most dramatic scenes of a soap opera happen off-camera.

That was the case this week when rumors surfaced that the long-running NBC daytime drama “Days of Our Lives” might be canceled after the end of the current season.

The cast and crew jumped in to control the damage. “We are still here and we are not going anywhere,” the actress Kristian Alfonso, who plays Hope Williams Brady, said on Tuesday in an Instagram video. “We’re not being canceled,” Chandler Massey, who plays Will Horton, said on Twitter. Despite those assurances, many fans wondered whether the future of the show was in doubt.

Representatives for NBC and Corday Productions, the production company which has produced “Days of Our Lives” since its debut in 1965, declined to comment. Sony Pictures Television, which produces the show in association with Corday, did not return phone calls. A person close to the show, though, said that “Days of Our Lives” had not been canceled, and that Sony and NBC were in negotiations to renew it for its 56th season. “Everyone is hopeful that it will be picked up,” the person said. “People are assuming a worst-case scenario, while we are hoping for the best.

The news about renewal talks was reported by TVLine, an industry news site, which said the entire cast had been released from their contracts and the show would go on an indefinite hiatus. Calling the move “decidedly ominous,” it questioned whether the end was near. Daytime serial dramas have suffered in recent years as ratings have plummeted and networks have shifted daytime programming to talk shows, which are cheaper to produce.

In 2011, for example, ABC announced it would end two of its long-running daily dramas, “All My Children” and “One Life to Live.” CBS announced the cancellations of both “Guiding Light” and “As the World Turns” in 2009.

Corday, which negotiates contracts with actors for “Days of Our Lives,” will wrap up production for the current season at the end of the month, eight months ahead of schedule, said the person close to the show. And that’s where things get confusing: Some, but not all, of the cast will be released from their contracts, the person said. Additionally, all this is happening as the cast is preparing to leave for a scheduled holiday hiatus.

“In the past, we had a return date for production,” the person said. “But since we are ahead of schedule, we don’t.” If Sony and NBC reach a deal to renew the show, then Corday Productions and the actors can sign new contracts.

“Days of Our Lives” debuted on Nov. 8, 1965, as a half-hour drama and was expanded to an hour format a decade later. Television soap operas were an offshoot of 1930s radio dramas, which were sponsored by soap companies. The show is set in the fictional Midwestern town of Salem and has garnered 43 Daytime Emmy Awards. It airs in more than 25 countries worldwide.

Like other serial dramas, “Days of Our Lives” has dropped in popularity. According to Nielsen, which tracks television viewership, the show has had an average of 2.07 million daily viewers so far this year. The show drew 2.6 million daily viewers over the same period in 2010.

In March, Corday sued Sony, saying the company “has intentionally sought to destroy the series,” according to a news release. According to the complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Sony sought to subvert the show in foreign markets.

“It is absolutely necessary to bring the current untenable situation out into the light in order to ensure the future of ‘Days of Our Lives,’” Ken Corday, president and owner of Corday Productions, said in the news release.

The production company said Sony did not negotiate adequate licensing fees with NBC for “Days of Our Lives” and had not taken advantage of the growth of cable television and video streaming. In addition to seeking the termination of its distribution agreement, Corday wanted at least $20 million in damages for lost profits, as well as damages for fraud and breach of contract.

Lawyers for both Sony and Corday declined to comment on Wednesday. But a recent court filing shows that the two sides have entered into settlement negotiations to resolve the conflict.

Stephen Sondheim's "FOLLIES" get the Film treatment!

Broadway Legends... Alexis Smith Bernadette Peters

Attention all theatre kids, both former and contemporary: Composer Stephen Sondheim has announced that his musical Follies will finally come to the big screen.

The show originally opened on Broadway April 4, 1971, at the Winter Garden Theatre.

Follies first opened at the Winter Garden on April 4, 1971, directed by Harold Prince and Michael Bennett, with choreography by Bennett. Follies earned seven 1972 Tony Awards and the New York Drama Critics’ Circle Award for Best Musical. The show, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, ran for over 500 performances. The cast included Dorothy Collins, John McMartin, Alexis Smith, Gene Nelson, Yvonne De Carlo, Fifi D'Orsay and  Graciela Daniele.  

Dominic Cooke, known for the quiet drama On Chesil Beach will take on directorial duties. Cooke directed a West End revival in 2017 which also had a return engagement earlier this year.

“Over the years, there have been many attempts to bring Follies to the screen, but not until Dominic Cooke’s brilliant production at the National Theatre of Great Britain did it seem like it could be a real movie. I’m more than delighted, I’m thrilled, that it’s finally going to happen,” composer Sondheim told The Insiders.

Follies centers on two actresses who once performed in a musical revue together. As the two reunite to commemorate the demolition of their old theatre, they reflect on their lives and career choices. The show became famous for contributing several musical standards, including the songs Broadway Baby, Losing My Mind and I’m Still Here.

The new film version, which also features David Heyman, Rose Allison and Rose Garnett as producers, has yet to set a cast or release date. That said, we wonder what  Liza Minnelli and  Barbra Streisand are up to at the moment…