Saint Laurent: Kicking off our A/W 2014 invitation anticipation, a sumptuously heavy envelope arrived from Saint Laurent, made of heavily textured card. Inside, a white card candidly announced the bare minimum of details in small, simple print. Continuing Hedi Slimane's booklet invitation series, a sleekly bound comic book of dark and disturbing illustrations by Raymond Pettibon was also included, suggestive of the urbane grittiness that lay ahead. Its title was printed in a striking white debossed foil Photography: Jessica Klingelfuss

Versace: The Milanese house evidently spared no expense, sending a silk handkerchief printed with a golden frame, encrusted in distinctively macho-man bling. Fancy wheels, flashy watches and golden chains gave fair warning of the red-blooded catwalk show to come

Z Zegna: The front of Z Zegna’s invitation was patterned with inverted pentagons in glossy foil on a matte black foam board. Only the essential show details were printed on the white card reverse, framed in a slim black window

Salvatore Ferragamo: Ferragamo’s invitation gave an inkling of the textures and layers central to its A/W 2014 collection. Die-cut, duplexed fibreglass-effect paper left the silhouette of the house's logo to shine through in cream. Show details were printed in luxe gold foil

Kenzo: Humberto Leon and Carol Lim got all our gears going ahead of their Paris outing, with an interactive invitation featuring rotating cogs

Y-3: A textured foam board invitation suggested comic book graphics and Pulp Fiction drama in black foil lettering at Y-3

Umit Benan: A baseball-themed invitation suggested fun and games ahead for those attending the Umit Benan show

Dior Homme: At the other end of the spectrum was the souvenir postcard of lily-of-the-valley florals sent by Dior Homme – a prelude to the heady floral fragrance that scented the air at the show. Philosophy was evidently on the mind; included in the clear wallet was a laser-printed poster proclaiming that the show would be called ‘The Poetry of Life’, after a quote from Goethe. The poster’s de-bossed stars and felted foil polka dots popped up later on the models’ shoes

Paul Smith: The British designer took a lyrical turn this season, playfully sealing his invitations with musical notes. It was later revealed at his show that his A/W 2014 collection was dedicated to musician Jim Morrison

Paul Smith: Inside the envelope, Sir Paul sent what seemed to be an off-cut from one of Morrison’s ponchos ahead of the Paris show. With tribal prints and a row of dancing semi-quavers, it prepared us perfectly for a collection of 1970s psychedelia, complete with sheepskin, kilim prints and hippy hedonism

Jimmy Choo: A camouflage record sleeve (whose grey markings, on closer inspection, were in fact composed of sultry silhouettes of voluptuous pin-up girls) encased a replica 7” vinyl, inviting us to paint the town red with Jimmy Choo

Maison Martin Margiela: The in-house design team, inspired this season by the isolated town of Pyramiden on the Norwegian archipelago, sent out an invitation made from grey matted wool - thick enough to brave the region's harsh elements

Rick Owens: The understated luxury of Rick Owens’ black leather invitation, featuring die-cut windows, heralded a collection of striking silhouettes and lavish fabrics. Swish and sophisticated, the embossed details on the invitation’s reverse informed us that the show would take place in the grand Palais de Chaillot

Givenchy: M/M (Paris) were once again behind Givenchy’s invitations, each a limited edition A5-sized artwork on ivory stock paper. The small print beneath the show’s details revealed the names of co-collaborators Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott. Givenchy’s name was in gold foil, and details were in small block lettering on the reverse beside a die-cut corner

Louis Vuitton: Kim Jones' kaleidoscopic invitation offered a visual prelude to his Paris showspace, where hand-painted swirls based on satellite images of Machu Picchu, the Atacama Desert and the Nazca Lines backed the catwalk and lined the floors

Alexander McQueen: A striking and somewhat spectral portrait of a boy stared coolly out of the mirrored board that heralded McQueen’s London catwalk show, alluding to the shadowy collection that was to follow

Valentino: The maison kept things simple with chic, slate-grey triplex card and a glossy grey foil print this season

Dries Van Noten: Dries Van Noten printed show details in black foil onto a simple 540 gsm card. A tiny touch of gold foil pointed to pared-down luxury

Burberry Prorsum: A perfectly laser-cut cityscape of Burberry’s beloved London popped out of a simple (but lavishly embossed) cream card, inviting us to its London show. From Nelson’s Column to Battersea Power Station, all the city’s treasured landmarks were there – not forgetting Burberry's Horseferry House HQ, which took centre stage naturally

Kris Van Assche: The abstracted houndstooth prints of Kris Van Assche’s Paris catwalk were given the 1980s treatment on this minimalist invitation, appearing as pops of magenta and indigo on a slim white duplex card, slipped within a black, die-cut rubber-effect sleeve. Shouty black foil lettering on the back gave details of what was to be an equally graphic show

Gucci: The Italian house sent out a matte black foam board decorated with a glossy diamond motif

Prada: Miuccia Prada’s opaque acetate and pearlescent paper invitation, housed inside an unassuming cardboard cover, resembled a deconstructed Josef Albers painting, cut up and collaged for the twenty-first century

Comme des Garçons: The brand's laser-printed invitation presented men with superimposed heads of wild animals, mythical creatures, teddy bears and even a cage fighter. Strange and slightly sinister, it set the tone of the spectacle to come in Paris

Issey Miyake: A poster-sized invitation printed with a rainbow of neon veins promised an electrifying Paris show

Jil Sander: The dark, metallic violet of Jil Sander’s UV-varnished invitation predicted a collection of lustrous textures and intense colour. Screen-printed details peered out from between the subtle spots

Ennio Capasa: A wild streak of black paint against a plain white board offered an ambiguous prologue to Ennio Capasa’s show

Cerruti 1881: Textured, chocolate brown duplex card was emblazoned with scarlet, foiled text, hinting at the subtle military vibe of Cerruti 1881’s Paris show. Strictly regimental font, also in red foil, declared details on the reverse

Brioni: A sophisticated grey foam board was edged in a slim band of brick red, keeping Brioni’s invitation elegant and polished. The emphasis was on texture, with a fibreglass effect front and subtle metallic back. The refined colour scheme was echoed in the foiled text – matte black with Brioni’s logo in signature glossy red

Yohji Yamamoto: Like a Japanese netsuke, Yohji Yamamoto’s balsa wood block of an invitation came threaded on a raw jute rope. With details screen-printed in simple, denim blue, the invitation’s austerity was deceptive, though its organic quality was, in hindsight, perfectly in tune with the collection’s floral motifs

Neil Barrett: The invitation from Neil Barrett arrived folded into a sharp black triangle, one side matte and the other sleek and satiny. Once opened out, crisp and keen edges (and a bit of hidden origami-style structuring) meant it could stand alone on the mantelpiece like a futuristic pyramid

Berluti: The Parisian house alluded to its timber-clad catwalk theme with a stark tree ring motif on white card

Calvin Klein Collection: Calvin Klein’s matte, chalkboard black triplex foam board spoke of both luxury and simplicity, with details printed in smart, matte grey foil lettering on the reverse. Another invitation to an evening reception arrived too. This one featured elegant, hand-written script on plain white paper. It contrasted and complemented the first perfectly

keywords:A/W 2014 menswear collections, invitations

关键词：A/W 2014男装系列、邀请函