Carven on Wheels at Pitti Immagine Uomo

 

Could there be such as thing as palazzo fatigue? Guillaume Henry, Carven’s creative director, appears to think so. A renaissance rebel, the French designer steered clear of the predictable Florentine pile as a guest of the menswear trade show Pitti Immagine Uomo, opting instead for a rather unremarkable velodrome in which to showcase his 2013 collection on Thursday evening.

“Jacques Tati meets Fellini” was how Henry described the evening’s theatrical hijinks as models ran, cycled, and speed-walked their way around the cycling arena. A traditional French waiter race simultaneously weaved its way through the Carven-clad spectacle, with trays laden with cocktails precariously threatening to dampen the collection’s crumpled madras shirts, natty all-over-printed shorts (and shoes), and zesty knits. But if you were watching only the clothes, you missed the point.

“The idea is not that people leave here thinking about the color of the shoes or the design of a belt, but they enjoyed the experience and got to know the Carven man,” Henry said. As such, he wanted the evening’s mood to reflect the quirks of Gallic culture and recreate a sense of congregating to celebrate national holidays, “when the weather is beautiful, the food is delicious, and the wine is falling” (or, rather, flowing—his French accent can be at times wonderfully misleading). And, indeed, he succeeded. The fashion crowd was on its feet (and their iPhones) for a Fellini moment when an Italian Bersaglieri (military) troop jogged around the tracks playing their bugles.

While fitting models earlier in the day (after they’d finished an impromptu soccer match on the runway, that is), Henry explained that when he initially visited the venue, he didn’t even consider sport as a theme. “When I arrived, I said to myself, this is the best place to have a picnic,” he said, which may explain the new backpack collaboration with Porter. “I just find the venue beautiful.”  And it was. Silver platters brimming with basil, Sicilian tomatoes, and plump cherries decorated tables positioned on the pitch, while couscous, quiche, mozzarella, and charcuterie plates reflected a mix of specifically chosen French and Italian food.

And yet despite the performance on the pitch, the collection is no homage to sports. “The Carven man is healthy, he’s fresh. He’s the type of guy of who would enjoy this place, but will never practice any type of sport. Like me!” laughs Henry. A comment that leaves us guessing as to where his debut line of Carven sneakers in pop brights is destined.