Style-setter Dior revisits man's silhouette

(AFP/FRANCOIS GUILLOT)

Dior, long a style-setter on the male sartorial scene, on Saturday revisited man's silhouette with floating fluttering suits and coats far removed from the French house's skinny look of last decade.

Unveiled in the Marcel Cerdan boxing hall - named after the late world middleweight champion who was Edith Piaf's lover - the autumn/winter line featured robe-inspired hooded trenches, ample coats and wide-cut jackets.

"It reminded me of vampires and 'Twilight'", said one young enthusiast, referring to the box-office hit, vampire romance sequel "New Moon".

On hand among hundreds of guests were couturier Karl Lagerfeld, French actor Lambert Wilson and US rapper-cum-fashion addict Kanye West - seen at many of the four-day Paris menswear shows that close Sunday evening.

Lagerfeld warmly applauded the collection from Dior-s 33-year-old star Belgian designer Kris Van Assche, who last season began putting paid to the house look of the noughties - cigarette-slim pants and narrow suits that started a world crush on boyish, often gender-bending, silhouettes.

Breaking just a little with Dior's taste for black, Van Assche added charcoal and oatmeal to the colour palette and threw touches of silver on ties and lapels.

Shoulder loops, high collars and structure gave a military touch to the models who marched briskly with clothes flowing to the sound of "Temple of Love" by 80s rock band Sisters of Mercy.