Asian Designers Make an Impact in Paris PARIS - Asian designers, whether home based or in the fashion diaspora, are making an impact in the opening days of the Paris men's 2012 season. Phillip Lim, the Cambodian-American designer based in New York, was smart to come to Paris to show a 3.1 Phillip Lim collection that was simple but laced with the conceptual. Displaying fresh white tailoring, knits with a graphic jigsaw pattern and a herringbone tweed coat worn under a semi-sheer organza jacket, Mr. Lim succeeded in countering the culture of casual. But instead of the back-to-suits concept that has dominated the season, his aim was to create "elegant youth," embracing the idea that dressing up is today's counter culture. So Mr. Lim took traditional men's wear pieces but tilted them in a different direction: pants rising high with a knotted belt, the vest as a generous sleeveless jacket, a black leather blouson with skinny pants cropped below the knee. Mr. Lim talked about 1960s influences from rude boys to punks but he made his men look like a band of guys for 2012. Pleated pants for men apparently came from Issey Miyake himself - although he is officially retired. The result: A cotton mix fabric curving a little like full britches was invented by the Miyake team, which also worked the Japanese concept of dying and layering, What the brand can achieve with its inventive fabrics - say a dip-dyed method where a dark color licked over a plaid pattern - was impressive. So was the dedication to Eco Pet, a polyester recycled from plastic bottles. Yet the show lacked the intense energy needed to propel the Issey Miyake man forward. Kolor lived up to its misspelled name - not least with scarlet socks and ginger shoes as well as burgundy pants by the Tokyo designer Junichi Abe. The idea of classically cut pieces, distressed and crumpled, is not a new fashion trip. But the collection Thursday was well planned with its cardigan hems marking a thigh line to a jacket. It was not a groundbreaking collection but one that caught the spirit of dressing up in a subtle way. The über-stylist Nicola Formichetti is part Japanese. But for the collection he orchestrated for Mugler , the influence was American military wear. Cropped jackets worn with sparkling stretch pants, half capes gleaming over one shoulder: Tell that to the Marines! That idea of uniform, which was the undercurrent of the Milan men's wear shows, has re-emerged in Paris. "Marine uniform, dressed up, smart clothing, tuxedos, formal wear," Mr. Formichetti said backstage to describe the influences in clothes designed by Romain Kremer. Sharp tailoring and the use of the stiff silks linked to the world of traditional male evening wear were the best of the show. But there still is no defining overdrive to the work of its original designer Thierry Mugler - except the tiny star pins. When Christian Lacroix founded his house, his style was an antidote to the Japanese aesthetic. A cross worked into a white shirt, gilded bits on a collar, a kaleidescope pattern on sportswear - the codes of Christian Lacroix were maintained in the collection by Sacha Walckhoff. But if you have to print "Paris" or "Arles" on a cap to get your message across, the subtlety of vision is written off.