By Jessica Michault

For his debut catwalk presentation designer Guillaume Henry decided to take the Carven man to a carom billiards hall. Not pool mind you, where the goal is to drop balls into pockets. In Carom billiards, the name of the game is to hit the ball into those of the opponent to create a chain reaction to tally up points. It’s a rather good analogy for this fine show that was continually building momentum and yet remained cohesive at its core.

One of the central motifs of the show was a graffiti print based on the work of the artist Brassaï who was the first photographer to see the beauty in street art and capture it on film for posterity. These child like drawings appeared on classic looking button up shirts, outerwear, and on some dependable dresses. Yes, Henry picked up on the growing trend to weave in some womenswear into his mens shows.

“I am feeling really good,” said a beaming Henry after the show. Going on to explain that the beauty of anonymity was what fascinated him this season. “I liked that the drawings were very naïve, a bit like the drawings you find in a prison cell, but nothing sad or dreary. Its all about a boy who has had this experience and he is magnificent in his anonymity- I liked this idea.”

Henry might have liked this idea of being inconspicuous but there was a power and direction to his menswear pieces that can’t help but be noticed.

His black leather snap button shirts finished in an elastic waist band, his double breasted hoodie slash peacoat in black and navy and his plaid based biker jacket all had a creative freshness to them. As did the color choices in this show. The blushy beige pieces and one brick red suit made perfect foils to all of the black, white, and gray on the catwalk.

This was a strong runway debut and bodes well for the future of Carven’s menswear.