Image: Lauren Beck.
High trousers and sheer tops join together for Duckie Brown‘s flowing Spring/Summer 2016 collection.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Balenciaga, courtesy of Style.com.
Call it an ode to a simpler time. On the runways this season, designers typically known for intricately tailored pieces have rebounded for fall, championing a new elevated comfort—quality staples meant to be worn again and again. So why the move from overstated and ultra-tailored offerings to luxe, relaxed classics? A high-end hitch to the internet bandwagon? Or a shift towards necessary versatility? Perhaps a little of both. Designers recognize that today’s man is on the go and always searching for the next best investment. Now more than ever it seems, sartorial quality trumps quantity.
Image: Bottega Veneta, courtesy of Style.com.
A far cry from what has been coined “normcore,” looks from Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, and Gucci left no doubt that luxe has to be today’s new normal. Bottega Veneta creative director Tomas Maier’s inspiration for the collection stemmed from his desire to “dress someone who doesn’t think about clothes; he dresses from necessity—’It’s cold, I’ll wear a cardigan.’” All around, what resulted from this increasing need for versatile wearability are impeccably detailed pieces that, with marked craftsmanship, provide built-in longevity.
Image: Gucci, courtesy of Style.com.
Clean lines and interchangeable details are the basis for the direction luxury menswear is taking. Designers realize that the everyday man has practically mastered the act of paying strong attention to detail, without appearing too self-aware. This is a delicate balancing act that life-long fans of aspirational brands have learned to command; a new privation has borne a breed of menswear that must be duly decadent and democratic.
Image: Dior Homme, courtesy of Style.com.
Denim too has made a comeback as a democratic and practical style staple. Workwear denim was showcased on the runways for fall in familiar iterations of blazers, trousers and, work-vests, and became the full-time standout in the Dior Homme and Valentino collections. “You have to know the rules and then you can break them,” said Valentino’s Maria Grazia Chiuri. Sometimes you just have to know how to break the rules to get things right. Classic silhouettes grouped in fool-proof combinations show just how easy designers are making it for the masses to obtain (or recreate) a well-deserved piece of fashion.
Image: Prada, courtesy of Style.com.
Futuristic basics with an air of casual familiarity were highlights at Prada and Valentino—two collections that felt like a review of go-to classics you’ve touched, felt, and have truly worn but, weren’t; this time they were better, much better. “Uniform, severe, elegant: This is the fashion I like at the moment,” said Miuccia Prada who showed a diverse collection of many pieces cut from the same cloth. Tonal hues of midnight blue, grey and taupe were refashioned, living beyond the normalized notions of style, luxury, comfort and gender. Today’s man isn’t afraid of making a personal statement and allows his sense of style to become a vessel for his personality.
Image: Patrik Ervell, courtesy of Style.com.
At NYFW, Billy Reid, Robert Geller, and Duckie Brown were among the labels that weaved the familiar trend of normalcy throughout their collections. DKNY menswear designer, Garry Martin incorporated athletic fabrics and tailoring into the collection and explained, “Guys don’t want to keep buying the same staples—they’ve done it.” At the same time, Patrik Evrell showed futuristic yet, familiar details in his collection, showcasing oversized windbreakers, overcoats, and trousers that throwback back equally to the ’90s as they beckon toward the future. The key to incorporating these familiar new classics into an everyday, practical rotation is to vary textures, fabric, fit, and purpose.
Image: Duckie Brown, courtesy of Style.com.
Rethought luxe classics are giving both consumers and designers reason to expect a new unexpected. The devil still lies in the detail but now, there’s new value placed on different details. As Valentino’s Pierpaolo Piccioli revealed, “If you can change aesthetic values, you can change the values of society.”
Image: Lauren Beck.
Vulnerable in both emotive thought and physical material, Duckie Brown‘s Autumn/Winter 2015 collection—perhaps the last runway show in the near future for the brand, as Steven Cox hinted to Tim Blanks—reveals a dramatically mature style for the label. Instead of the usual seasonal embellishments, plunging silk buttondowns were paired with pleated trousers and transparent, loose fits for a sartorial awakening of the Duckie man.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Lauren Beck.
Image: Florsheim by Duckie Brown.
Sea foam green saturated penny loafers, rose-dipped leather desert boots, and military oxford shoes with gold-plated toes complete the cheeky guest list of Florsheim by Duckie Brown‘s Easter sunday party of a footwear collection for Spring/Summer 2014. Now in its fifth year, the fusion brand combines traditional American craftsmanship (the former) with high concept menswear (Duckie Brown) and this season—with its mix of metals, materials, and mint colors—it not disappoint. Preview the new lookbook below and then shop the collection on the brand’s website now!
Fashion Week is over. Not in the “I’m so over letterman jackets with leather sleeves right now” kind of way—which we actually ARE—but like, actually over. Finité. All four cities. Donezo. Well for men anyway. And you know what? That’s fine. It’s been a lot of nice clothes in a very short time, and it’s happening again in the time it takes you to watch a Netflix mini series. Until that happens (and we’re all sweating ourselves silly in September), feel free to 1. chill out and 2. linger over our favorite behind the scenes moments from London Collections: Men, Milan, Paris, and NYFW Autumn/Winter 2014.
Adam Senn was just one of the familiar faces Dolce & Gabanna hired for their Autumn/Winter 2014 collection, bringing male models back to the runway game (of Thrones..ba dum cha) for the first time in years.
A tribe of underground misfits and mainstream bad boys..er...girls?...things?—Honey Dijon, Boy Child, etc—strutted their best grommet-covered stuff in Hood By Air's Autumn/Winter 2014 runway show. If you thought the vogue-finaly was crazy, we've got news for you: backstage was just as weird.
It takes a lot of quilted-covered-down balls to attempt an all white and grey moment when your set is dropping in melted chocolate, but Opening Ceremony is never one to play it safe. Lucky for Carol and Humberto there were no 'by chocolate' tragedies, well at least that we could see *gross sex joke here*.
Backstage, all the leaves weren't quite as brown as they were Browne and grey, as models were stenciled and stamped with foliage faces and outfitted with animal accessories to fit into Thom Browne's print party of a runway.
Bright colors and bolder construction illuminated the cave-like den Topman Designs chose for their Autumn/Winter 2014 runway show. Luckily, backstage was just as wild, just slightly less wet.
A master of mishmash, Yohji Yamamoto already had our emotions tied up with his Autumn/Winter 2014 collection, but the slivers of colored extensions poking out of his models' messy hair-dos, were the proverbial hat on top of the cherry on top of the cake.
Aint' no party like a Dean and Dan Caten party, but seeing twin designers race back and forth backstage we truly learned the meaning of brotherly support.
Duckie Brown's show was great, but we couldn't help but wonder which had more shine: the lush fabrics or the sweat covered faces of models layered in fields of cloth? Only one place to find out.
The African safari (via Paris via London) roamed off the catwalk and into uncharted, backstage territory after the Paul Smith Autumn/Winter 2014 show.
Penetrating, our backstage photography reveals a vulnerable perspective behind the sleek, hardness of the JUUN.J man.
We didn't know what to make of Simon Spurr's appointment to Kent & Curwen last fall, but his first collection for the heritage proved the British-turned NYC designer still has a few tricks up his tailored leather sleeve.
Backstage KYE was a blur of oversized everything, bleached teeth white kicks, and gradients for days.
Images by Ernie Green and Paolo Simi.
Images by Ernie Green.
While it was designers Steven Cox and Daniel Silver’s first season to show women’s RTW, Duckie Brown‘s Autumn/Winter 2014 collection mostly stayed true to its founding ethos: dressing men beautifully.
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Backstage: Duckie Brown SS’14
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Images by Ernie Green.
Secretary Hillary Clinton with Oscar de la Renta
Hillary Clinton was there. So was a new retooled fashion industry film version of “Texts from Hillary,” which garnered a knowing smile from the Secretary. She was, you know, just doing a little honoring of Oscar de la Renta. Bravo’s Andy Cohen hosted the 2013 CFDA Awards and incorporated elements of his talk show “What What Happens Live” into the evening’s program with light hearted segments you like “The Vault” during which photos of the nominees from the 80’s and 90’s were revealed. Giggles and humility ensued. A film by Jun Diaz which was shot at a historic Renaissance Revival mansion was featured and provided a thematic foundation through which all individual honoree and nominee tributes were connected.
And then there were the winners. Menswear designer of the year went to Thom Browne. A deserving win but not the exciting upset it would have been if first time nominees (for designer of the year) Daniel Silver and Steven Cox of Duckie Brown/Perry Ellis would have won. Dao-Yi Chow & Maxwell Osbornefor of one of our favorite up and coming brands, Public School, took home the highly coveted Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent in the menswear category.
“We are honored and extremely grateful for this award. We were competing against very talented designers. To be recognized by our peers, editors and the fashion industry is an incredible moment,” says Chow. Adds Osborne, “We are thankful to the CFDA and Swarovski for creating this amazing platform for American designers. The menswear award is truly an honor.” Our eyes were already fixated on their growth from an indie label known for mixing structure into scruffy & edgy looks into now a CFDA award winning brand. There’s plenty to love about their Spring collection, but we’re pining for the next edition of their shoe collaboration with Generic Man that are coming mid-summer (image below).
Another notable menswear winner? Riccardo Tisci of Givenchy who was recognized with this year’s International Award, presented by Jessica Chastain.
On the womenswear side, Proeza Schouler won the award for best womenswear designer and the Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent in Womenswear was given to Erin Beatty & Max Osterweis for Suno. 3.1 Phillip Lim took home top nods in accessories with Pamela Love doing the same for the Swarovski Award for Emerging Talent in Accessories.
The night was electric and seemed to mark a turn in the page towards the future. Names like Thom Browne and Jack McCollough & Lazaro Hernandez for Proenza Schouler, that at only a mere decade ago would have been considered upstarts walked away with the most widely recognized award in the industry. New talent like Public School, Sumo and Pamela Love have been set on the same course. Time, style…and the CFDA…marches on.
Related: Public School Fall 2013
When the music stopped halfway through the show, we were fairly certain it was on purpose. Is it because the Steven Cox and Daniel Silver are contrarian, playful and irreverent? Well…yes. Exactly and exactly why we adore these two. Why play music when there’s an undertone rhythmic bleeping and clicking inherent to a show. Why wear one coat when you can wear two—here with a bomber over a top coat. Can contrasting shades of the same color be worn together? Paneled and celebrated, actually. Should shirting always stop just below the belt line? A commonly held myth that’s bucked throughout. Are sweatshirts always worn beneath your jacket? Think again, especially when there’s proportion to play with. Do jackets always need to button in the front. Absolutely not. Indeed. The clothes here are classic Duckie Brown—challenging the way men, and especially American men conceive of dress, and have left us fully provoked.
All photos by Ernie Green
Favorite Five
Two jackets are better than one.
Why not put a sweatshirt over a denim jacket?
A modern take on grunge.
Play with fabrications and textures, always.
A jacket for riding into the future.
Show
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Related: Duckie Brown Spring 2013
Florsheim made a bold move hiring those zany Duckie Brown boys to put all sorts of pop color and beads on their typically more subdued, ready to wear (to work), style of mens shoe. And they did so to great effect. Their walk on the wild side, which began for Fall 2012, continues straight through to spring with more beading, this time in an all over red brogue and more graphically on a black and white one. Other pops are the laceless wingtips (which in black, cognac and navy are quite way to loosen up a look), the laceless skaddle in some handsome tonal colorways and the frumpy moccasins in emerald and yellow. But actually, the whole collection pops—if you’re into the aforementioned, you’ll certainly like the turquoise, suede penny loafer and the saddle shoes as well. If you’re less “Duckie” and more “brown,” Florsheim Limited still does things up conservatively—anything from the casual navy and tan Tienomite lace up boat shoe to the more formal calfskin leather and suede Marlton with its brogue’d perforations. And if you’re in New York City, be sure to check out their newly renovated flagship at 444 Madison Ave, a nice update of mid-century modern proportions.
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Related: Florsheim by Duckie Brown Beaded Brogue
On the whole, there are two completely satisfying things about the first ever Perry Ellis collection by Duckie Brown—first, we get the pleasure of seeing what commercial goodies Steven Cox and Daniel Silver are able to concoct while wearing corporate gloves and second, we get a brand new Perry Ellis that’s not as much reworked as it is taken to the future. Wait, stop. Quick check of history—Perry Ellis the man was once (back in the 70’s and 80’s) the enfant terrible of American men’s Fashion—before even Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren. Ok, back to the now. There are elements that are strictly Perry Ellis—like khaki, and plenty of it (also the herringbone set was an homage to the walls at Perry Ellis’ Seventh Avenue Studio where he used to hold his fashion shows), and there’re aspects that have Duckie Brown written all over it, like drop crotch pants. The combo is laid back excitement and brazen politeness. Yes, the color story could be considered, uh, pale, monochromatic, but in its assembly and construction, it never veers too far from the playful soul of Duckie Brown. So how did Duckie Brown, makers of conceptual mens/unisex clothing who’re one half British come to take the reigns of one of the most storied, commercial American brands around? We sat down with them to have a little Kha-ki, if you will, and find out.
Essential Homme: We meet again! And you’re debuting the first Perry Ellis by Duckie Brown collection. Tell us about your first memories or interactions with Perry Ellis.
Steven Cox: He wasn’t someone I grew up with at college in London. The designers I would normally reference would be like Westwood and Yohji. There weren’t many American designers who made an impact on me while I was growing up. Maybe Calvin Klien and years later, Ralph Lauren—I think Ralph is the king. But Perry Ellis no.
Daniel Silver: I think it was when Perry Ellis approached us I said to Duckie (Steven) that we should go see some images and get a feeling for what the brand was and where it is so we know how to talk them about what we can do.
SC: I think sometimes its good that I didn’t (know more about Perry Ellis), because sometimes if you don’t know what it is it can be fresher.
DS: It’s not us recreating Perry Ellis, because that never works for anyone. Also this is not Perry Ellis, this is Perry Ellis by Duckie Brown. It is a new day and it is a new designer label. So we have tried to be respectful to the heritage of what we think is valuable of Perry Ellis pre-1985 (ed. note: Perry Ellis died in 1986 but the brand continued), but beyond that this is a whole new ballgame.
SC: There doesn’t seem to be any archive of the mens so we haven’t seen any of the past collections. There were 104 DVDs given to us, and of course we didn’t watch all of them. I was only interested from when he was alive. So we put 3 videos on at a time and just had in them in a loop at the studio for a few days, and we had some interviews and fashion shows. But you know, fashion shows used to be like an hour and fifteen minutes!
DS: They were like one long cocktail party. Models drinking on the runway, eating on the apples.
SC: It was almost quite boring and I would notice some interesting things but…. I didn’t want to dive too deep into the archive of Perry Ellis because I already had a vision already of what I wanted for Perry Ellis by Duckie Brown early on, before we even got the job. It was basically, I wanted an army of khaki soldiers. I wanted 32 beautiful guys, different looking than the ducky brown casting, more clean cut, not American, but an American-European, a beautiful guy.
DS: Listen, for Duckie Brown, if you’re English and kind of ugly and weird looking we want you. There’s none of that here. We went for a more understandable beauty. This is a more commercial collection, we want to reach a bigger audience. Yes, it feels also, you can see our influence, but we’re going after a different piece of the market here so we had to tune ourselves accordingly.
EH: So how did you tune yourselves for something that’s more commercial?
DS: Duckie Brown is fashion with a big “F” and we want to make your blood boil and get a reaction out of you and change your eye as to how things can be worn or how things are supposed to be. Perry Ellis by Duckie Brown is that, but taken way down. It’s still a show but its for a wider audience. A more transatlantic sportswear collection.
SC: I don’t think taking it down are the right words. You look at it with different eyes. Separation. Sometimes people find it hard to separate. We do 5 lines. I don’t have the same head in every collection. I move it around. People sometimes may think they do Duckie Brown and that’s all they do. We don’t. We do Duckie Brown, Mr. Brown by Duckie Brown, Florsheim, we do this line in Korea and now, this. Its not less than or down, this was easier than doing Duckie Brown. I find it much easier to show it because Duckie Brown is much more particular, it’s a fantasy self. I wouldn’t wear all of Duckie Brown but I am wearing one of these pieces. Perry Ellis by Duckie Brown is done in a fashion format. I feel very confident with this collection and I don’t always feel confident about Duckie Brown.
DS: It’s our handwriting. With Duckie we had no constraints. For Perry Ellis we had the responsibility to maintain the integrity of a brand that once was, but to re create something new that felt relevant for today. The danger here is that you, as an audience member, will think we’re being too Duckie or being to Perry and it’s a very fine line for us to walk. I think we nailed it.
SC: I always think if I pushed it far enough. This season I didn’t push it far enough.
DS: People are going to think that we pushed it, trust me. We have an incredible work gold jacket with matching shorts and a gold mesh shirt.
EH: Now, tell us about all this Khaki. Not such Duckie or, really, outrageous material, but one that Perry Ellis himself was rather known for mastering.
DS: It’s fabric!
SC: We used the same mills as Duckie Brown. for Perry Ellis. Khaki is a very loose term. We start off with what you expect khaki to be and then we move through gold khaki, olive khaki, grey khaki, olive khaki and end with like, pink.
DS: We took the idea of khaki and exploded it. It’s 50 shades of khaki darling.
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Runway imagery photo credit: Dan & Corina Lecca
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Backstage imagery photo credit: Eli Schmidt
One of the top news stories that’ll come out of the men’s category at New York Fashion Week will be the first Perry Ellis collection to walk down the runway with new collaborators—Duckie Brown (Daniel Silver and Steven Cox). Silver and Cox watched just about every Perry Ellis show they could get their hands on and honed in on the famed designer’s sense of style and knack for humor. “We’re doing an American collaboration. So we have to be honest to it. It’s part homage, part quirky and all deeply stylish,” Cox explains as they create witty iterations of the mac, trench, baseball cap, the hoodie and the track suit. Also, we hear, khaki. Lots and lots of it. We also got a glance at their inspiration board—a parquet floor, Works in Bronze and Steel 2006 by John McCracken and a minimal piece from Dutch conceptual artist Schelten-Abbenes. The key words, it appears, will be wood, minimal, eggplant and subtlety. For now, we’ve got this sneak peak sketch and a brief and cheeky film about a hair cut with the Duckie Brown boys, which we think, has something to do about sending a fresh, new Perry Ellis collection down the runway come Fashion Week.
Spring 2013 Collection look sketch
Parquet
Works in Bronze and Steel, 2006 by John McCracken
Schelten-Abbenes
