Palmiers du Mal offered up a tale slightly more sinister for its Autumn/Winter 2017 collection. Titled The Evil Palms, the line’s velvet pants and silk button-downs recreate a filmic, Pink Panther-esque jewel heist and subsequent Mediterranean escape—a bad boy’s lifestyle reinvented.
Utilitarian aesthetics are having a major moment in menswear; from Paris Fashion Week all the way to New York, a distinct chilling tone has blanketed runways, both political and riotous, and even Saturdays NYC, the Manhattan-based, minimalist-surfer brand, falls victim to its rebellious call. Debuting its Spring/Summer 2017 line in a lookbook of scowling glory, the brand draws inspiration from the art of ceramics to deliver a collection molded on a hardened practicality. Stepping further away from its long-haired, sunny lines of late, an updated linen category now carries the brand’s first suits, debuting the Brian Blazer and Gordie pant, alongside a militant-inspired pleated short and vertical-stripe woven shirts. Though the breakout Julian bomber sees itself in its staple nylon satin, the execution has been updated for a more reserved feel—an added bottom hem and cleaner cut sleeves adding dramatic maturity to its youth-centric aura. Rounded out by light knits and boxy crew necks, there is a distinct balance between the light Saturdays NYC foundation the brand has perfected and a new air of dramatic gray-area where a wrestling unease toils away. With a heavy emphasis on color, many of the pieces age with wear and feature a double-dyed pigmentation, this latest release, a stark progression, is a bold step towards a more elegant and expressively mature future.
Topography taken literally, Deveaux turned to the sprawling terrain of Iceland for Autumn/Winter 2017, mimicking landscapes with textured textiles and a Rothko-inspired, earthy color palette that enchanted.
John Elliott debuted his largest collection yet for Autumn/Winter 2017, celebrating the brand’s 10th anniversary with an athleisure line that expanded the cultural exchange of summer basketball players into 45 looks of nylon-galore.
French fashion brand The Kooples releases its Spring/Summer 2017 campaign as a love story of a fanciful couple in its intimate first moments. Boasting gorgeous visuals and photography, the campaign showcases the sophisticated collection that combines essential styles with finer patterns, inspired by the vintage and military trends of the season. The campaign is characteristic of The Kooples, a brand that seeks to unify fashion between men and women, as seen in its Autumn/Winter 2016 collection.
Patrik Ervell gave outerwear its due diligence for Autumn/Winter 2017, reinventing classic silhouettes in a variety of textiles for his long-awaited return to New York Fashion Week Men’s, following a two-year hiatus. The pieces, dramatic with a masculine strength, evoke the senses and awaken a harbored desire for sharp lines and crisp cuts.
Shot by Willy Vanderperre, Raf Simons’ Spring/Summer 2017 campaign draws on an artistic appreciation to redefine masculinity. Each print, in true Simons fashion, contains a Robert Mapplethorpe photograph, crafting meaning within the shadow of the great artist through black and white, sexually-charged images. Using a variety of materials for which Simons is known, the collection includes shirts, tank tops, and overcoats inspired by the famous photographer himself.
Layering was taken quite literally at N.Hoolywood: the brand debuted an Autumn/Winter 2017 collection that jettisoned clean-cut construction for a line built on a manic and unordered craze.
Set aside your outdated hype playlists or over-spun DJ tracks and turn to a more updated fare with Trending Tunes, the definitive Autumn/Winter 2017 runway compilation from around the globe. Just set up those subs, press play, and walk that walk.
The mix:
Soundtrack from Alex Mullins‘ Autumn/Winter 2017 runway show for London Fashion Week Men’s.
Track list in the following order:
01. “Fatty Boom Boom” – Die Antwoord
02. “Disco Dancing in the Rain”
Audio: Alex Mullins.
Neither ESSENTIAL HOMME nor Alex Mullins claim ownership of any of these songs. If you have ownership of music in this playlist and wish to not be included, please contact us at INFO [at] essentialhommemag.com and we will remove immediately.
G-Star RAW is inspired by its own creative imagination in its Elwood x25 campaign, bringing to life its Spring/Summer 2017 collection. Capturing the vast, eclectic, and global essence of the collection, the campaign features G-Star co-owner Pharrell Williams and Dutch artist Marte Mei van Haaster modeling the range before industrial and bucolic backdrops. The photography is accompanied by a behind-the-scenes short film and several visual snippets that reflect the music mogul’s personality, style, and mission. Launched on the 20th anniversary of the seminal 3D Elwood design—a style defined by its knee patches, knee darts, and slanted high—the collection features 25 pant designs that adds a G-Star RAW twist to traditional camouflage, tartan, animal, floral, and tropical prints. The impressive campaign tells a story of both the brand’s and Pharrell’s sartorial expression.
The Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and Cadillac‘s ongoing market training experience Retail Lab enters 2017 with a new designer at the helm of its rigorous selling program. Public School, the free-spirit streetwear brand who recently reinvented New York sports caps, embraces its first ever free-standing selling experience through the collaboration, one that advises and guides new creatives on how to navigate the sometimes tricky world of fashion retail.
Image: CFDA x Public School.
Image: CFDA x Public School.
Image: CFDA x Public School.
Focusing on brand development and market penetration through brick-and-mortar spaces, the brand has set up shop in New York’s famed Cadillac House, transforming the creative safe haven into one of organized chaos—a 1995 Cadillac can be seen crashing through the wall, a stark contrast to the clean elegance of the space yet one that is reflected in the brand’s first drop within the program. As part of a rigorous release schedule—new products will be released every five to 10 days—Public School’s Retail Lab debut is simplistic, yes, but relates to the brand’s first foray into the learning curve, its name misspelled, written backwards, and reflected upside down in a tongue-in-cheek ode to day one of schooling. Driven firmly by its clear vision, the drop sets a hopeful tone for the next three months of training, a metaphorical first dipped toe, hand-in-hand with the philanthropic minds at CFDA, into the restless waters of fashion retail.
Retail Lab is located within Cadillac House at 330 Hudson Street in New York and is open now.
The simmering sparkle of the season is professed through Bruno Magli‘s Spring/Summer 2017 campaign, highlighting a footwear line that embraces a pepped-up color wheel—blues, tans, and cognac all rearing their heads in a variety of snappy and casual kicks where woven leathers take center stage.
