RUNWAY: Philipp Plein FW19

In the briefest of moments at the start of Philipp Plein's FW19 show, one had a glimmer of giddy excitement: a model strode out holding a puffer with a skull-and-cross-bones symbol with Plein's name naturally plastered on it, as well as the years '1999-2019'. Is this how Plein announces the shuttering of his label? Alas, no. It ended in disappointment with the realization that Plein was just celebrating his 20th anniversary. This anniversary collection, however, offered a bright spot in that it allowed the viewer to think back on 20 years of Philipp Plein and the conclusion is that this tone-deaf designer - albeit one can tailor a suit - offers little to the fashion world. There are no new shapes, no new ideas or anything that involves real creativity. Instead Plein's modus operandi is to a offer highly stylized vision of wealthy and masculinity, with rhinestones, glitter, leather, and an unearned ego. That's where his base is and he's built a strong business from this base during these 20 years. As the internet allows people to connect more, the underbelly of toxic masculinity has reared its ugly head and there likely is no better label to attract these men, whose vision of masculinity involves zero self-reflection and no internal growth, than Philipp Plein and for that, one has to give him credit for finding his niche and waiting for the truckloads of cash to come in.