EMILIO FLORES BY GREG VAUGHAN

Minientrada

EMILIO FLORES (SOUL ARTIST)

MODELO ESPAÑOL DE 20 AÑOS DE EDAD Y 1.87 M DE ESTAURA

FIRMADO POR LA AGENCIA TRAFFIC MODELS EN BARCELONA, ESPAÑA.

HA DESFILADO PARA IMPORTANTES CASAS DE MODA COMO GIVENCY S/S 2013 Y CATÁLOGOS PARA DOLCE & GABBANA Y ARMANI.

 FOTOS DE GREG VAUGHAN

RALPH LAUREN SPRING 2013

You may never walk a mile in Ralph Lauren’s shoes. You may have to walk a mile to Ralph Lauren’s shoes. A fashion spectator, invited into Lauren’s sweeping Madison Avenue showrooms, has a long journey ahead of him. The trip through the worlds of Purple Label, Black Label, Polo, and RLX—plus the Jeans iterations of at least a few of the preceding lines—seems to encompass at least one city block. Bring your hiking boots. Or borrow a pair of those on display.

First, Purple Label, the toniest jewel in the RL crown—the chairman of its board, if you will. The highest rollers won’t be disappointed by the three-piece tailoring and tailcoated evening options, though they may be surprised to find them newly snug, thanks to a slimmed silhouette. The sportswear offerings have been much expanded, from floral pants to hazard orange, bonded slickers, for the CEO who peacocks when he’s off the clock. Or perhaps just in acknowledgment of the fact that today’s CEO isn’t necessarily hoary. This is the age of the Instagram millionaire.

At Black Label, the story is brown. It’s the label’s new neutral, and it looks great against the country club pastels like lilac and sea foam that are RL standards. The Black Label denim gets in on the story, too, in weather-beaten sand tones.

ARTHUR SALES (SOUL ARTIST)

Polo is more relaxed, the college boy of the bunch, with natural shoulders and softer materials to match. The RL team has begun to mix it in with the technical-sport RLX collection, a move that’s brought a bit of freshness to both. The vibe is Outdoorsman in the Off Hours—which translates pretty directly to Men’s Fashion Editor in the On Hours. Leave on those hiking boots, in other words, but put on your blazer, too.

BURBERRY PRORSUM MENSWEAR S / S 2013

PERRY ELLIS SPRING 2012 MENSWEAR

SEAN O’PRY (VNY) 

PERRY ELLIS SPRING 2012

Remember when the only men who wore capris were stylish Euros? Well, these days American guys are a lot more style-savvy. «I knew I was taking a risk with the capris,»Perry Ellis‘ creative director, John Crocco, said post-show. «But we had a few capri options for men in stores and they were selling really well, so I thought, Why not?» 

FRANCISCO LACHOWSKI (FORD)  

Cut cleanly in sand and white linen and ending a few inches below the knee, they were a nice companion to the salmon, mustardy ocher, and periwinkle jackets and knits. The colors were inspired by his recent travels to the Painted Desert in Arizona. «It’s about the traveler, the road trip meets safari,» Crocco explained.

SEAN HARJU (SOUL ARTIST)  

With plenty of linen, cotton, and an intriguing chintz-linen blend, plus roomy uncomplicated cuts, there was a pleasant, airy feel to the collection. Crocco added some approachable tailoring touches, such as suit trousers that hit at the ankle and a handsome white-on-white seersucker sport coat.

DAVID AGBODJI (REQUEST)  

When he did venture deeper into trends—a couple of color-blocked sweaters might look cheekily right on a svelte downtowner, but you could see the potential for disaster in the wrong hands—it was with a likable, gentle nudge most shoppers will likely respond to.

GANT BY MICHAEL BASTIAN SPRING 2012 MENSWEAR

DAVID AXELL (CLICK)

Hawaii, not Manhattan, is officially the island of New York fashion week. All right, perhaps not officially, but it’s above and beyond the preferred destination this collection season. Add Michael Bastian to the luau-loving bunch, even though he has never actually visited the state. «What I know of Hawaii is from watching the Brady Bunch shows from the seventies,» the designer said at his Gantpresentation. «But sometimes your idea of something can be even better than the real thing.» Bastian’s dream combination of Hawaiian fever and seventies love translated into a hippie-dippie version of all-American classics. 

Even the models were cast with Marcia and Greg in mind. «This collection is about being happy and fun,» Bastian said, grinning ear to ear. «It’s about what you can throw into your bag for a summer weekend and just go.»

FRANCISCO LACHOWSKI (FORD)

For women, there were sweet sundress renditions. One saccharine frock had embroidered watermelons, smocking on the bodice, and straps that tied into floppy bows. Another floral-printed version was more attractive, if not for its roomy tunic fit, then for its nickname: the «Drunk Mommy dress,» Bastian called it. But it wasn’t only girly girls who were catered to. Tomboys also had options, in a rainbow-striped vest and cargo pants.

RODRIGO CALAZANS (NEXT)

Predictably, the men’s designs were stronger. Denim, in candy colors, was nicely tapered and rolled just above the ankle. Camo, amped up in red, was layered in with the requisite Hawaiian flower and tiki motifs. Bastian also showed a knack for tweaking rugby shirts with agreeable details such as an exaggerated contrast placket, or lacing instead of buttons. Swimwear, though, was where things really got fun. A pair of pink swim trunks with a hippo print was merry enough for both Maui and East Hampton. Meanwhile, one beefy male model seemed to be wearing nothing but a mint green Gant logo cotton tank top (if you looked closely, you could see tiny swim briefs underneath). If anything, it brought plenty of smiles all around.

TOMMY HILFIGER SPRING / SUMMER 2012 MENSWEAR

The catchall name of this collection, Modern Prep, is one you’ve no doubt heard before from Tommy Hilfiger. It’s essentially his raison d’être. But this particular interpretation of it, likely conceived with great input from consulting designer Simon Spurr and stylist Karl Templer, pushed a more pointed fashion agenda than Hilfiger’s ever done. 

Though the collection cycled through various motifs of Americana—from camouflage to varsity jackets and chinos to seersucker and sailor stripes—there was something distinctly European in its stance. You saw it in the savvy slimmed silhouettes, the knit polos, the handheld bags, the avant-garde look of sailor stripes splashed onto pant legs. Maine and Main Street via Milan (and a bit by way of Tokyo).

The irony, as one men’s editor pointed out after the show, is that preppiness served straight-up is what’s being fetishized these days outside the good old U.S. of A. Witness the success of Hilfiger’s own Prep World pop-up, which toured through Europe this summer. There’s a risk that if preppiness gets too sophisticated, something might get lost in translation.

Nevertheless, Hilfiger clearly wants to up his fashion ante, and in that respect, this collection had meat—and certainly gave everyone a little something to chew on.

 

ALEXIS MABILE SPRING 2012 MENSWEAR

Fashion shows are occasionally obscure in their reasoning and impenetrable in their semiotics, but give Alexis Mabille credit: The opening tableau of his Spring show told you everything you needed to know. Four models in rolled white cargo pants, espadrilles, and printed tees stood side by side.

The first’s top read «ALEXIS M’HABILLE» (that’s «Alexis dresses me,» the verb pronounced just like his surname). The second: «ALEXIS ME DESHABILLE» («Alexis undresses me»). And with that, the models whipped off shirts and dropped trou. Voila: Mabille’s new underwear collection, created in collaboration with the skivvies label Hom.

Briefs are big business (just ask Calvin), so hard to blame Mabille for branching out. Backstage, he noted that their entry-level price point would open up his brand to an entirely new clientele. He mentioned that with his clothes—interior and exterior—he’s always been interested in the inner workings and structures as much as the outer shows. «I wanted to go inside,» he said.

The collection’s nominal theme was bain de soleil—»sunbath»—which accounts a bit for the disrobing (in some cases, shedding actual robes). Summer by the sea called for swimwear in addition to underwear; lightweight suiting pieces, a few with a brocade chain pattern snaking up the legs and around the waists; and numerous twists and turns on marinièrestripes, from those peeking out from the lapels of a gray jersey peacoat to others adorning a cotton-knit poncho.