Paris Men's Fashion Week shows there's more to menswear than suits

Who said menswear was only about the so-called "sartorial trinity": tuxedo, shirt and trousers? The latest runway shows in Paris proved that there is far more to expect from the upcoming spring-summer 2016 season than semi-formal dress codes. In fact, menswear turned its gaze to East Asia - with a stopover in Seattle - before stepping into a time machine and propelling us back to the night fever of the 1970s.

Forget about the Wild, Wild West: this season, inspiration has moved away from California's shores and turned its attention to East Asia. Chinoiseries - the French expression that stands for Asian-inspired patterns - were not to be missed this season. While Thom Browne dressed his models as geishas, paying homage to (or, as others might put it, appropriating) traditional Japanese folklore and craftsmanship, Kim Jones' latest outing for Louis Vuitton, titled "World Clique", was all about expressing a spirit of unity between East and West - think Western tailoring revisited with the charms of Southeast Asia. Thai-inspired silk embroidery on trackpants and flight jackets crafted from Japanese Kobe leather echoed this trend. Berluti's Alessandro Sartori, for his part, provided an eye-catching tailoring that was inspired by Le Corbusier's '60s modernist architecture in Asia. He introduced kimono cuts on sleeves, which allowed more movement while stripping away the outfits from all internal constructions to emphasise the lightness.

The other end of the weight spectrum was well represented. The heavily-adorned souvenir jacket was seen on the Parisian runways as well. Valentino, in particular, excelled at it, with the collection's glossy luxe college jackets.