Front Row — Page 57

Fingers Crossed Spring 2016

July 14, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Fingers Crossed creative director Ryu Hayama looked to the photography of Nick Cooper as captured in sunsets and sunrises. “The clothes inspiration is sunset into the light. The colors are yellow, red, blue and black. Imagine when daytime is fading you get the yellows and the burgundy reds and as you come into the nighttime you have the darker colors of blue and black,” explains Hayama. “This season there is less structure because I felt there was too many details last season and this season I wanted to aim for more simplicity, so you see some belted pieces but less detailed looks married with diaphanous fabrics that expressed the polarity of masculine and feminine.”

Fingers Crossed always pushes the envelope when it comes to masculine silhouettes always looking for that fashion-forward next. This brand is not for that masculine consumer that wants the tried and the true. This is a brand, and particularly this season, that is for the outré male consumer.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Where last season, Hayama had garments that did appeal mostly to a niche consumer with some separates and outerwear that could have appeal to a wider male demographic. However, in this outing Hayama pushes his collection into a more romantic realm with much more emphasis on softer, diaphanous fabrics and looser silhouettes. All these projections toward ease of movement and tranquility were expressed in fabrications of crushed velveteen, soft-brushed cotton nylons and slouchy linens.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Though there was a lot of beauty in this collection, Hayama’s point of view for his spring 2016 collection may lay outside of the realm of what a lot of male consumers might want to wear. It is not enough to marry interesting concepts with beautiful construction; clothes have to have retail viability. Where last season, Hayama’s pushing of the envelope definitely made consumers and fashion industry professionals stand up and notice, this season Hayama’s fashion as art leaves you wanting more, but not in a good way.

—William S. Gooch

Cadet Spring 2016

July 14, 2015 by admin 1 Comment

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

When a brand titles itself Cadet, immediately the mind shifts to a collection with an oversupply of military jackets and dress trousers with stripes down the side. That might work for a couple seasons, put after a few outings the design team might run out of ideas. Not in Cadet’s case.

With only a few seasons under their belt, the Cadet design team of Raul Arevalo and Brad Schmidt military-themed menswear looks seem to be gathering steam. This design duo appears to have a plethora of ideas based on the military and for this collection, The Filthy 13,” they reached back to World War II’s paratroopers in the United Stages Army demolition section’s invasion at Normandy.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

For a couple of seasons several menswear brands have dabbled in variations on camouflage print. From carnation, orange, and blue camo to traditional brown and olive, there has been a lot of mix and matching of a variety of camouflage color palettes. Cadet stayed with the traditional brown, olive, and a sprinkling of blue steel grey in this collection, and perhaps, of all the collections over the past few seasons, their take on camouflage print and marrying that to a very masculine silhouette was done better than almost any other menswear brand. They were also successful in employing black, brown, and steel grey utility belts and detachable manbags with paratrooper jackets, elevating this collection above just another homage to military uniforms, adding a utilitarian touch.

Though this collection harkened back to 1940s paratroopers uniforms and there was no breakout design aesthetics or silhouettes employed, Arevalo and Schmidt still managed to keep the collection fresh, current and ruggedly sexy. In essence for this outing, it was mostly about the styling, which was superb.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

A lot of male consumers from a wide range of demographics will find something in this collection that they can add to their spring/summer wardrobes. From the separates to the silver grey and olive jackets, this collection is a surefire hit!!

—William S. Gooch

David Hart Spring 2016

July 14, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

In this inaugural season of New York Fashion Week: Men’s (NYFWM), New York Fashion Week Mensday has continued it trajectory from the past three seasons of presenting a collage of 12 menswear designers in one space over the course of one day. Sponsored by Cadillac, this assemblage of menswear designers, many of which are gaining traction in the ever-expanding menswear market, may have be one of the highlights of the newly knighted NYFWM. (And not just because there are so many menswear designers showing at one time.)

What is so genius about this menswear collective is the fashion cornucopia of different design aesthetics, variations of male silhouettes, and projections on where menswear is heading. All this excitement and creativity housed under one roof, on one day. Who could ask for anything better?

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

That said: David Hart’s spring 2016 collection was one of the highlights of the morning session. Inspired by the Bauhaus and such design artists of that era including Anni Albers and Gunta Stolzi, as well as the radical photography of Lazlo Maholy-Nagy, Hart ingeniously weaved a kaleidoscopic patchwork of primary colors, pastels, graphics, and geometric prints expressed in his penchants for casual American sportswear that reflects Art Deco and easy, lush life of Miami and Cuban club life of the 1940s and 50s.

Incorporating a marsupial pouch into the front pocket area of the men’s short was a fashion forward and utilitarian way of modernizing the standard American sportswear short trousers. And Hart’s paring of graphic and geometric printed tuxedo jackets with primary color slim slacks was divine, as well as editorial gold.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

This collection, though not necessarily breaking any no ground in menswear, elevates Hart’s oeuvre for American sportswear that pays homage to Miami club life of a bygone era to a level of retail relevance and accessibility. Hart is on the right track, and has fond a unique to combine exciting color combinations, graphic patterns married with American sportswear that can bring some much needed effervescence and vitality to American menswear terrain.

—William S. Gooch

Carlos Campos Spring 2016

July 14, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

For his spring 2016 collection, Carlos Campos was inspired by the “Forastero;” the mysterious outsider, the stranger in unfamiliar territory. The outsider is a common theme in Latin American literature and culture. This “Forastero” could be from a capital or the provinces and has relocated for business or work. He sits alones in cafes and plazas as he goes about his daily routine, known to no one.

“Growing up in Honduras, I as always struck by the Forasteros, these men who came to our town to work, who kept to themselves, and although they were outsiders, carried themselves with a quiet confidence as if they had always been there,” says Campos. “Often, they dressed in a sleek uniform-like way that telegraphed that they were from another place without making them stand out.”

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

In previous seasons, Campos has exploited his continued affection for color blocking, usually expressed in bold colors with very streamlined, masculine silhouettes. This season Campos minimized his predilection for color blocking, staying with his color palette of hunter green and navy blue. “My designs for this season may seem lighter, yet underneath they are still very tailored—with an almost clinical approach to layering,” detailed Campos.

Though there were more suits in this collection and a more structured formal approach than in previous outings, this collection did not contain the youthful approach or Campos’ genius for chic, fashion-forward projections that are accessible and consumer friendly seen in his other collections. The belted looks on many of his jackets, aged the masculine silhouettes and seemed more appropriate for an older demographic and by elongating the welt pockets on his bomber jackets and employing wide-legged trousers, and waist tie straps, Campos may have unconsciously placed those looks in the mid-1970s, reminiscent of jackets and slacks seen in Blaxploitation films.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Still, Campos is a talented menswear designer, and though this collection was misstep there were garments that demonstrated his creative brilliance. Standouts included white woven short with palm leaf and hunter green “forastero” camo lounge short, dark navy-coated canvas hooded cropped jacket with white open collar woven shirt and hunter green wool tailored short, and white cotton jersey tank with rose compass print.

—William S. Gooch

CWST Spring 2016

July 14, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

One of the things that stood out this inaugural season of New York Fashion Week: Men’s is that menswear designers are creating clothes for a different kind of male consumer, particularly the international traveler. This consumer may be in Dubai one week, the next week in Cologne, the next week in Seoul, Korea. And in between all this commuting for work and/or business, this consumer may take a quick rest and relaxation in some exotic locations as diverse as Rangoon, Ibiza, Sao Paolo or Aspen.

All this shuttling around the world requires clothes that travel easily and need very little maintenance. Also, this world traveler probably doesn’t wear the traditional suit for work or business. Whether he works in the tech industry, new media, entertainment, finance or fashion, his attire has changed. CWST, pronounced “quest,” is creating garments for just this type of male consumer.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

CWST creative directors Derek Buse and Joe Sadler took their guy from sandy beaches to the beauty and desolation of Death Valley. Inspired by “mother earth” in all her extreme terrains, the design duo’s spring collection echoed the polarized opposites of mother earth from her arid desolation to her natural beauty.

What was most appealing about this collection was Buse and Sadler’s evolution of the seersucker suit. Their “new seersucker” is lightweight with a touch stretch, facilitating ease of movement. This is the ideal garment for today’s international male traveler.

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Where the collection went a little off kilter was when Buse and Sandler followed the design crowd and incorporated athletic references that came up flat and uninspired. Stay with works guys, the casual feel of your more tailored looks could be your bread and butter!!

—William S. Gooch

Boyswear Spring 2016

July 14, 2015 by admin 1 Comment

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

“Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me.” Can a song from the “Sound of Music” inspire a collection? Apparently so, particularly if that collection finds wicked humor in the Manson Murders with a tongue-and cheek nod to the Von Trapp Family Singers. Oh, how dark can you go?

Boyswear’s hippy dippy, psychedelic blend of the 1960s California culture with the “Sound of Music” does have a connecting strand; still, the dark humor of this bizarre combination, though intellectually interesting, creatively missed the mark at times. At the end of the day, intellectual concepts aside, it is always about the clothes. And unfortunately, when the intellectual pursuits of the creative team override the retail viability of the garments, you are mostly left with fashion as art, or in Boywear’s case, Tyrolean-inspired costumes as play clothes. (The Von Trapp Family singers in pajama-like play clothes don’t always translate into wearable garments that consumers might be interested in.)

Images courtesy of Ernest Green/fashionreverie.com

Still, the child-like frivolity of this collection did have some appeal and the garments were well made, though leaning toward a little on the Captain Kangaroo aesthetic. Obviously, the design team at Boyswear is talented. They just need to go back to the drawing board and figure how to take their creative mien and turn their talent into clothes that are more wearable and less of foray into child’s playtime in the sandbox!!

—William S. Gooch

Maria Lucia Hohan Resort 2016

July 1, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

It is very difficult to develop a stronghold in a market where there is oversaturation and hype sometimes based on celebrity-based name recognition or glitz and glam with little substance or retail viability. Everyone wants to be a fashion designer. And whether you a celebrity or reality television personality with the deep pockets to launch a line or that ersatz designer who has a distinct point of view, it all appears so easy and accessible.

Still, the proof is in the pudding. And at the end of the day, what stands out and has staying power are those collections that have something interesting and unique to say that also appeal to a significant demographic. Maria Lucia Hohan is producing those kinds of collections.

Maria Lucia Hohan’s oeuvre is finding that delicate balance between contrasts. By that I mean, delicate and innocent juxtaposed against sensual and seductive, flirty and whimsical contrasting chic and sophisticated. All these adjectives are beautifully expressed in her resort 2016 collection.

Hohan’s ingeniously marries sheer diaphanous fabrications with structure, draping and movement that highlights and illustrates the feminine silhouette without overpowering the flow and sensual beauty of the garment. Color palettes range from soft pastels of pink, carnation, mauve, foam green, and orange to canary, eggshell, tan, and ecru.

Images courtesy of D’Orazio & Company

This is a collection for the consumer that wants whimsical, light garments that evoke fantasy and airy abandon. Well done!!

—William S. Gooch

Theia Resort 2016

June 25, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Images courtesy of JS Group

For inspiration, Theia’s creative director Don O’Neill looked to the work of Bauhaus artist Anni Albers. Albers was known in the US for her designs in ink washes for textiles, and for being one of the first textile designers to have their work presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Modern Art. Her woven works include many wall hangings, curtains and bedspreads, mounted “pictorial” images, and mass-produced yard material. Her weavings are often constructed of both traditional and industrial materials, not hesitating to combine jute, paper, and cellophane.

This juxtaposition of industrial and traditional and materials is a focal point of O’Neill’s inspiration. “Her simple and clean use of lines to create textiles and wall hangings, informed a minimal approach to [this Resort 2016] collection. I began with navy blue ribbon embroidered tulle, woven thru with linear micro sequins, which is used throughout the collection. The vibrational aspect of color she used in vivid stripes inspired nautical dresses and her graphic black and whites resonate in a mosaic-tiled embroidery, while white details accentuate clean lines on black dresses,” explains O’Neill.

Images courtesy of JS Group

Though this Resort 2016 collection incorporated current trends of big floral prints, metallic fibers and variations on crop tops, O’Neill stayed true to the brand’s design aesthetic by fusing Albers woven detail influences with Theia’s modern perspective on chic, sophisticated clothing that can appeal to a wide demographic. Standouts in the collection were O’Neill’s nautical blue and silver stripped pocketed skirt with mosaic multi-dimensional weaved crop top and black dress with low decolletage and high slit and white Peter Pan collar.

—William S. Gooch

Ellery Resort 2016

June 13, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

For their Resort 2016 collection, the Australian design house Ellery looked to the quintessential late 60s rocker girlfriend archetype, Anita Pallenberg. Pallenberg was girlfriend both to Rolling Stones band members Brian Jones and Keith Richards.

Pallenberg personified the rocker chick of the later 60s and early 1970s with her bell-bottomed jeans, loose blouson tops and slightly androgynous appeal. And though she did have a short career as a model and as a part of Andy Warhol’s “Factory” cabine, historically she more well known as the paramour of Rolling Stone band members and her influence on the band.

Ellery Resort 2016 collection is an amalgam of early 70s chic rocker babe influences paired with androgyny, moody black magic mysticism, and effortless sensuality. As always, creative director Kym Ellery pushes the limit of wearable fashion and fashion as art. But isn’t that what real fashion is supposed to be about?

This is a brand that projects beyond merchandising, giving consumers garments that cannot easily be replaced or duplicated by other brands. Though the brand aesthetic may be not fit a wide demographics fashion palette, much of the pieces in this collection are unique and dissimilar from other collections.

That said, Kym Ellery does stay on the 2016 Resort trend with an early 70s perspective and the ruffle trend that has popped up in many of the resort collection for this season. Detail and silhouettes nod to the nostalgic with ruffles cascading in abundance on crisp shirting. Decolletage tops with deconstructed bell sleeves also added to a 70s homage. Bold topstitching punctuated the tailored styles and juxtaposed the decidedly modern crease front-crop flare suits. And though is a strong androgynous point of view in this outing, this collection is not without its own brand of sensuality evidenced in deep plunging blouses and sheer diaphanous fabrics that reveal much.

Images courtesy of C&M Media/Ellery

A monochromatic color palette peppered with evocative burnt orange, burgundy, charcoal and soft blues. And fabrications are majestic with silk velvet, boucle binding, twill suiting shirted jersey and corrugated applique.

—William S. Gooch

Missoni Resort 2016

June 13, 2015 by admin Leave a Comment

Angela Missoni looked to the French/Russian painter Sonia Delaunay as a reference point for the brand’s Resort 2016 collection. The French-Russian’s work was recently displayed at the exhibition “ Missoni, Art, Color,” detailing the brand’s roots in color, patterns, and shapes.

The marrying of Delaunay’s art—which has it roots in Cubism and its bright fluid spinoff, called Orphism—and Missoni’s design aesthetic is a perfect fit. Angela Missoni filtered Delaunay’s use of primary color though a prism of psychedelic dizzying acid trip patterns that evoked images of late 60s hippies, flower children and the wild music of Jefferson Airplane, The Doors, The Grateful Dead and Pink Floyd.

Though Angela Missoni employed mini dress, bell-bottomed pants, and bell-sleeved shirts that are atypical silhouettes from that period, this collection was not presented as homage to the psychedelic late 60s. There was an injection of youthful whimsy fused with modern concepts that would be appealing to those bohemian types that have a predilection for wild, vibrant color.

From color palettes of aquamarine blues and sea foam greens to violet, salmon and bubblegum pinks, Angela Missoni found a brilliant of bringing all these vibrant colors together in a way that did not distract from the silhouette of the garments. But, isn’t that what the Missoni brand is known for? Though not the taste of every fashionista, for over 51 years the brand repeatedly creates collections that maintain its signature aesthetic while inventing a new and interesting ways to wear its kaleidoscope of color and patterns.

Images courtesy of C&M Media/Missoni

Standouts in this outing were and deconstructed orange halter dress , knit pants and jacket in shades of hot pink, yellow, blue, and black, long A-line black dress with rainbow pattern encrusted in the bodice, and white shift dress with painter’s gradient rainbow colors.

—William S. Gooch