Reviews of the following Spring 2017 Men’s collections, shown at New York Men’s Day (NYMD) presented by Cadillac, part of NYFWM: Uri Minkoff, Private Policy, Krammer & Stoudt, Rideau, Robert James, and Chapter
Uri Minkoff
Uri Minkoff SPRING 2017 PRESENTATION
Uri Minkoff, brother of Rebecca Minkoff, is a sensitive designer. Rather being inspired by an era or a location, he was inspired by a sense. In this case, his inspiration was the pace of life, moving a little too fast for his taste. Moreover, in an increasingly digital world, people need to slow down and live in the moment. He translated that message in his spring collection, where he sought to slow down time by using dancers moving in slow motion to model the lineup. Their subtle moves allowed the technical elements of the fabric to flourish, from performance-grade nylon, sport jerseys, to stretch cotton twill. But Minkoff’s presentation revealed something else: the need to have a gimmick to make the show stand out. In the immediate reaction, it wasn’t hailed as a strong collection with perfect materials. It was hailed as a social media success story. But in reading about Uri’s approach, something must have happened between now and this year-old Fast Company interview, in which Uri says:
“One early idea was to incorporate social media features into the dressing rooms, but ultimately the Minkoffs decided to ‘walk away from parlor tricks like sharing your selfie[.]'”
Got it. They didn’t walk very far.
Private Policy
private policy SPRING 2017 PRESENTATION
“Are slaves catching the fish you buy?” This was the question, posed in an Associated Press article, that inspired the Private Policy collection for Spring 2017. We understand the vision, but guilting your customers then capitalizing on a political issue in the name of fashion feels pretty assaulting. Somehow still charmed by the silk bombers Private Policy is known for, removing the ‘point’ of this
collection makes a bit more tolerable, and a plea that fashion can go back to the joy of just making clothes for the sake of looking good, not constantly making a point. Take away the drama, it’s a pleasing combination of sleepy prepsters in pajama tops to sailors in oversized seersucker and stripe. Biohazard print plastic pants felt recycled in more ways than one (Iris Van Herpen, Hader Ackerman, and Viktor and Rolf all beat you to the punch, and all to better effect !) and were almost a parody of ‘concerned’/’socially aware’ fashion, so predictable in its execution we couldn’t help but giggle. Politicizing fashion just calls to mind the Sinead O’Connors of the world, trying to use whatever voice they have to make a point.
Krammer & Stoudt
Krammer & Stoudt SPRING 2017 PRESENTATION
With a name that’s guaranteed to trip up autocorrect algorithms the world over, there was nothing tricky about the spring 2017 collection, if that’s what you know. Apparently, East L.A. was the inspiration for the garments, with the two dominating groups being Cholos and surfers. We’re neither, but we’ll take K & S’s word that dressing like a hybrid of the two involves high-waisted pleated pants and striped tops along with palm-tree print shirts, Mexican blankets, and (hey!) a selection of woven palm-front hats. If the collections have been any indication, is it time for a vacation? Occasional workwear classics dissuade us from this conclusion, so here we are, stuck daydreaming about Krammer & Stoudt*. Yeah, I’d love to be surfing right now, too. Colors were limited to blues and perfect whites, along with complex vertical stripe patterns.
Rideau
Rideau SPRING 2017 PRESENTATION
All but confirming our suspicion that fashion week is no longer for people actually involved in buying and editing, Rideau designer Dylan Granger wanted to “leave something to the imagination”, so Instagram celebrities, Snapchat idols, and the rest of us… had only eight looks to work with. Maybe he was covering his ass due to a Libertine-style logistics meltdown, but its not fair to speculate. With such limited selection comes a little extra scrutiny. Here we visit the beach again, Malibu to be precise. With tailored suits with shorts in a fabulous brown satin embroidered print, we could definitely imagine a chic arrival to Nobu Malibu (she loves cocktails). A plump sunburnt suede (?) jacket was over-the-top but saved by a simple pair of toasted yam-toned shorts. Also appearing was a halogen yellow suede biker jacket, a nice shift from a multi-season addiction to leather. Regrettably, we had little else to critique, but the collection was a satisfyingly luxurious approach to a theme that is running hot. Rideau on the whole (we guess; see above) slipped towards street, but at least it’s a gated one.
Robert James
Robert James SPRING 2017 PRESENTATION
Robert James is catering to a very niche group at this point, but he’s probably the best at it. Obsessed with rock ‘n’ roll, we’re seeing more of his astounding commitment to classic dressing with an occasional surprise. Problem is, there’s only so many times skinny jeans work, and only few times you can walk animal print and leather. Robert James is so dead-set on tropes of fashion, tiny, tight clothes in unfortunate colors, broad pinstripe pants paired with none other than silver polka dots dress shirt. It was this weird Mickey Mouse kitsch that threw a questionable collection over the edge, solidified with things like four and five button suit jackets and a truly unfortunate white cheetah/cow print jacket that wasn’t just a print in poor taste, but shapeless, too. Not to mention the Montgomery-Gentry-goes-to-Wall-Street shoes. The strongest thing here were outerwear garments, a solid anorak and a perfectly executed black leather jacket, which comes as little surprise, Robert James is quite good at this aesthetic, which isn’t for everyone.
Chapter
Chapter SPRING 2017 PRESENTATION
Devin Carlson is based in California, but shows his collections in New York City as a formality. His work is thoroughly LA. Remember the movie “Cruel Intentions?” This could have passed as the cast wardrobe with boxy trousers, short sleeve, unbuttoned thin-fabric button downs with white tanks underneath, and boxy sunglasses that with just a smudge of pomade oil gives a too-cool-to-care, I-need-to-ruin-someone’s-day vibe. We understand the obsession with the 90’s, the generation idolizes themselves, and love imagining
themselves as adults in the decade they were born. Carlson’s approach seems to be working. Chapter is being sold at U.S. retailers like American Rag, Odin, Ron Herman and Revolve, and the brand has recently been picked up by Harvey Nichols and Selfridges and will launch a women’s line, which will be sold at Need Supply, this fall.
