Almost more than any other menswear designer, Robert Geller finds inspiration and nuance from some of the most unusual sources and references. For his fall 2018 collection, Geller drew from memories of his life in Hamburg, Germany and the joy of hanging out with his friends. He married that youthful reminiscence with Olympic outfits of the 1980s, and Germany army sportswear apparel.This outing was in direct opposition to Geller’s fall 2017, the year of his 10th anniversary. For that collection, Geller shrouded his models in dark symbols of protest and rebellion, as though dystopia had already arrived.
For his fall 2019 collection, the Tibetan mountain climbers inspired Geller and the clothes layering required in such frigid temperatures. Though this is an interesting reference point, it is not unique. References to mountain wear and hiking has been used by many menswear designers in the past—Gilded Age created a beautiful, modern distillation on hiking and mountain apparel in their fall 2012 collection.
That said; Robert Geller did not stop with conjuring up images of mountain hiking apparel. Geller ingeniously combined layered mountain hiking clothes with the dyeing of different textiles techniques that are incorporated into one garment. Working with his Japanese team, they found a way to properly dye nylon, wool, and cotton with all those textiles combined in one garment.
In this fall 2019 collection, Geller also collaborated with athleisure wear company Lululemon on 12 pieces entitled “Take the Moment” that are injected into the collection. The purple line on the headgear distinguishes the Robert x Lululemon garments. With this collaboration, Robert Geller celebrates the marriage of function, performance, and style.
What is the most obvious brilliance of this collection is Geller’s ingenious layering of not only fabrics, but blending the layering into one cohesive look. Unlike many designers where the individual layering garments can be mixed and matched, Geller created looks that completely standalone as individual fashion ideas. There is no need to pair any of his layering items with something else in the collection or other collections. And though Geller tends to go for more somber color combinations in most of his collections, this season his pops of color complimented his usual somber color palette.
Photos courtesy of Khora Consulting
Standout looks in the collection are the Leopold jacket with Sigmund pant, the Yuri Vest with moon traveler pant, the “Take the Moment” collared long sleeve with “Take the Moment” Jogger, and the Sigmund bomber with the Roberto pant.—William S Gooch
LANDLORD’s Creative Director Ryohei Kawanishi in his seventh menswear collection went back to school for inspiration for his fall 2019 collection. Initially inspired by the Ivy League—the Darmouth, Princeton, Yale, and Harvard version of higher education—Kawanishi decided to expand his original perspective to include education from kindergarten to graduate school.
Not so, Kawanishi’s in this fall 2019 lecture conjures up images of an anti-intellectual student; a student that is somberly playful and may be a product of the laid-back stoner and slacker culture. And that stoner slacker culture has a definite, if not significant, place among young consumers.
There were not many bright spots during the New York Fashion Week: Men’s (NYFWM) fall 2019 season. Amid rumors that this season may be NYFWM’s last season, it was more than evident that NYFWM is a mere shadow of what it was or what it aspired to be.
Inspired the rural Spanish of the early 20th Century and Serge Diaghilev’s Ballet Russe, Palomo Spain’s creative director Palomo Gomez found an ingenious way to fuse what seemingly appear to be two disparate ideas the Ballet Russe and rural Spanish culture of the early 20th Century into an almost seamless design aesthetic. And a more interesting and notable aspect to this collection, Palomo Gomez found a way to inject the brand’s signature aesthetic of gender fluidity in a way that was not overwhelming, but added to the brilliance of the collection.
In this fall 2019 outing, Gomez expertly paired feminine and masculine silhouettes, which is expected. What was superb in this collection is Gomez’s acumen of pairing the feminine with the masculine is a way that is more accessible than in previous seasons.
There was also a wide array of brand accessories in this collection, ranging from gloves, hats, and bags to shoes and belts. These dynamic accessories came in the signature deconstructed polka dot print, as well as leather and suede. Additionally, there were several garments that could easily be mixed and matched with items within this collection or garments from other collections—particularly the collection’s jackets and skirts.
Fashion has on-going love affair with classic silhouettes from the 1950s and 1940s. And those eras of changing attitudes in fashion is not enough for the current arry of fashion designers, brands and designers will reach back to iconic fashion designs of the 1960s, 70s and 80s. And if grunge becomes the style that a fashion designer is referencing, then the 1990s becomes the order of the day.
For it pre-fall 2019 collection, Missoni reaches back to some of the brand’s iconic knitwear collections from the 1980’s while its founder and creator Ottavio Missoni was still at the helm of the company. This archival re-imagination of 80s trends successfully accomplishes what brands of Missoni’s ilk sometimes fail to demonstrate.
Conjuring up and repurposing iconic collections of yore is a risky move for well-known fashion brands, particularly when the originator of the iconic collection is not currently manning said fashion brand. The repurposed collection will always be compared to the original iconic collection.
Still, it takes quite a bit of craftsmanship to pull all of these inspirations and design aesthetics into a cohesive collection. And for pre-fall 2018 Missoni has done just that!!
Two things can be said about Anne Barge, her bridal collections are ideal for brides that are looking for traditional gowns and her collections always have a strong story. That is not to say that Anne Barge’s bridal collections don’t contain the occasional trending bridal pieces; however, Anne Barge, for the last couple of decades, has established her bridal brand as the go-to bridal brand for modern brides that want traditional fare.
“The Anne Barge fall 2019 bridal collection is full of mystery and surprise. Past the clean, graphic lines of the collection lies layers of rich detail and meticulous craftsmanship,” explains Jacobs. “This season, inspiration is taken from perspective photography, with each dress open to interpretation base on the viewers’ lens.”
Inspired by modern women who live in diverse cities and diverse cultures, Justin Alexander used this inspiration to explore graphic silhouettes juxtaposed with soft textures and floral embroideries, creating a modern collection that transcends tradition.
In this collection Jason Alexander had the arduous task of finding that delicate balance between keeping the collection market viable and expanding his design aesthetic beyond just beautiful bridal gowns. In an ever-expanding bridal market that is faced with over saturation, bridal designers are challenged to increase their bridal demographic while at the same time staying true to their vision and core audience. With this fall 2019 collection, Justin Alexander does just that!!
There are too many superlatives about Ines di Santo bridal than can be described. However, without gushing here are a few. Her bridal designs are stunning, innovative, thoughtful, and above all, consumer ready and market friendly, particularly if the bride has deep pockets.
Ines di Santo enhanced her exquisite bridal collection by launching her first jewelry collection that was made its debut on the fall 2019 runway. Partnered with Ciner, a 125–year old, family-owned jewelry company known for its attention to detail. Ines di Santo’s Fairytale Collection was inspired by illustrations from “East of the Sun; West of the Moon.” The jewelry featured pavè stones, antique glass flowers, and birds freed from their cages on a range of exquisite rings, earrings, bracelets, and necklaces. Additionally, the models in the fall 2019 show wore crystal-heeled shoes, The Diego Dolcini footwear, inspired by Baccarat, the quintessential French crystal maker.
What also can be said about this bridal collection is that the bridal gowns displayed in this collection is for the bride that wants to make a big statement with her gown selection. These gowns in this collection are chosen casually, these gowns should be collected for the bride that is planning a well-thought out bridal ceremony. And there is a reason for that. Ines di Santo’s gowns are for brides that have deep pockets and many of these gowns can be passed on as legacy or heirloom gowns.
One thing that can be said about Gracy Accad, she always includes a pretty wide demographic in her bridal collections. And there’s lots of variety of bridal garments for Accad’s ever-expanding bridal customer.
“Through this collection, I south to represent their influence, whether through sheer feats of craftsmanship, or dramatic re-embroidered laces. Frothy gowns of Italian tulle move like the romantic whisper of a poem, while silk taffeta coats billow as if aerated by a soprano’s bravura,” explained Gracy Accad.
It was in with the old and out with the new at New York International Bridal Week this season. Bridal often plays on two themes, the beautiful white dress, as is the gold standard, and the whimsical, often creating fairytale like gowns making women feel as close to a princess as possible. Many designers were even inspired by Meghan Markle’s wedding dress when she married Prince Harry this past spring.
The standout pieces from the collection this season were the graffiti jumpsuits, that were something never seen before from the brand, and looked like they could have fit in right at New York Fashion Week in the ready-to-wear collections of Jeremy Scott and Johnson Hartig of Libertine. This was Rita Vinieris’ bid for a younger, hip customer who goes against the grain. She’s a party girl with a penchant for the colorful, who doesn’t hide her light under a bushel. It was a great creative approach on the designer’s part, without trying to look like she was desperate to court a younger customer.
