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Designers court bright colors, body-conscious styles to court men
Tuesday, September 19, 2000 By LaMont Jones, Post-Gazette Fashion Editor
NEW YORK -- One of the greatest benefits of long-range planning is saving money. Booking a vacation far in advance, for example, can mean substantial savings in hotel and transportation costs and more time to budget for expenses.
So why not apply the same principle to buying clothes? Guys who find out now what will be in style and in stores next spring can spend the interim accumulating trends as they come across them, rather than impulsively overspending once spring fever sets in. In fact, some summer apparel can be bought cheap now as merchants clear their stores to make room for fall and winter stock.
Based on the men's lines shown in the first days of General Motors Fashion Week, here are some key looks to watch for: denim in different colors and treatments; leather in different colors and treatments; linen; close-fitting pants and shorts in any length; polka dots; D-ring belts; floral patterns; bright colors, white and shades of brown, and knit shirts, sweaters and vests that skim the body.
Given the body-conscious styles created by most designers, men who want to do the clothes some measure of justice will have to invest serious hours in the weight room between now and spring.
Leading the celebration of the well-maintained male physique were Everett Hall and Joseph Abboud, who showed devastatingly debonair suits that could easily go from work to weekend. Casual maintained a place, with David Chu introducing a colorful, retro-inspired collection for Nautica and with John Varvatos and Ron Chereskin presenting urbane dressy-casual looks highlighted by detailed, handsomely knit tops.
Varvatos' collection, heavy on great knits, was dominated by rich grays, blues and browns. In one instance, he paired ocean-blue striped linen pants with a gray linen crewneck. Another handsome look was a steel gray suede pullover shirt with light gray, coated cotton pants.
There were a number of sleek suits, including a pearl gray silk double-breasted one, a soft-looking three-button number in rust, a pinstriped three-button in khaki-colored linen, and a head-turning black wool faille double-breasted tuxedo with a white-and-black-striped French cuff shirt and textured black silk tie.
Hall presented his usual collection of hip, elegant suits with a range of button stances. He also introduced debonair placketed sport and suit coats, with buttons that are concealed by fabric for a more seamless look.
This is also the first season Hall used linen in sportswear suiting. The results were laudable, notably a black linen three-button placket front suit with flat-front pants. Other key looks, each in wool, were a seafoam green five-button placket-front suit with cream pleated pants; a four-button, multicolored windowpane suit with a purple mock neck; a silver-and-taupe glen plaidthree-button sport coat with pearl gray twill pants and an iridescent midnight blue four-button suit.
In a coup for the Washington, D.C.-based designer, Neiman Marcus recently announced it will begin carrying Hall's Black Label Menswear Collection in January.
Even the most talented designer can upstage himself by using animals in a show, especially irresistible pooches from the Humane Society. But Chereskin managed to share the spotlight with Wrinkles the Shar-Pei, Dominique the Dalmatian, and other pound dogs, without deflecting attention from one of the week's strongest men's collections.
Chereskin presented a line that was more colorful than the rest and stylishly daring. He unveiled a retro-'50s swim and after-swim lounge line in electric blues, greens and yellows; and he used terry cloth, seersucker and translucent sheers to create ensembles that were sensual and self-confident.
Among his best looks were a long-sleeve, crew-neck linen-rayon knit top in burnt orange with bronze twill pants; floral print mesh cabana shirts with coated nylon pants and Lycra swim trunks; and white cotton terry jean shirts, pants and three-button jackets.
Chereskin added some celebrity to the model lineup, including MTV host Ananda Lewis, ESPN sportscaster Stuart Scott and former "NYPD Blue" cast member Paige Turco. They concluded the show with a walk down the runway accompanied by pooches from the Humane Society of New York's Animal Clinic & Adoption Center.
Celebs were also on hand for Abboud's show, including Bryant Gumbel (a regular) and Jose Canseco. Abboud took a little autumn into spring with beautifully tailored suits in rich earth tones such as cocoa and papaya. But the organic palette packed just enough punch to not look out of season. Colors had a Caribbean feel that resonated with masculinity, while prints, patterns and weaves were inspired by the tropical style of Havana and American retro.
Looks were layered and draped easily, such as the linen blend double-breasted suit in coffee with a tan linen shirt and sand-colored linen-silk print tie. Other memorable looks were a wool three-piece suit in vanilla with a champagne silk print tie over a tan linen shirt, a four-button belted olive jacket with a light olive silk-cotton knit T-shirt and tobacco-colored linen drawstring trousers, and a copper melange wool-silk four-button suit with a rust-colored linen-nylon knit shirt.
Meanwhile, Nautica's David Chu used Broadway, television and film actors to introduce a colorful line of fun, active gear that can take men from the sailboat to the office. One of the best things about the line is that men of all ages can wear many of the pieces. Key looks were a navy linen single-breasted suit with a pale gray cotton button-down shirt and a navy blue tie, and relaxing tropical illustrations on shirts and shorts.
A look at some other menswear designers who showed for spring:
Gene Meyer
It was Miami Vice meets Grand Ole Opry for this collection, with neon colors served up with basic black and loud, offbeat color combinations.
There were some interesting cotton print blouson shirts; viscose V-neck sweaters in aqua, burgundy and orchid; and colorful print silk-cotton beach wraps that had a masculine, Middle Eastern feel. Colored leather belts with geometric buckles gave retro touches to outfits, including a black stretch coat with a knit camel V-neck and chocolate stretch wool pinstriped pants.
Perry Ellis
Ellis continued the look of body-friendly and relaxed ensembles, his chosen colors ranging from stone and taupe to burnt orange, lavender and ice gray.
His polka dots were bold, notably a grape silk polka-dot shirt with a lavender zip-front cardigan and slim, putty-colored pants. But his most memorable outfits were in black and white, including a black shirt with a silvery shimmer and matching slim pants. A winning formal look was a black crepe three-button jacket with matching pleated pants and a white dress shirt.
BCBG Max Azria
Sleek patent leather coats in a variety of styles and vibrant colors were the standouts in this collection. For starters, there was a flax-colored, three-quarter-length patent leather coat over a white linen short-sleeve shirt and white cotton flat-front pants. That was soon upstaged by a tangerine-hued patent leather jacket with iridescent, tobacco-colored flat-front pants and a white linen shirt; a jean-style blue patent leather motorcycle jacket with a white zip-front sweater and mocha stretch flat-front pants; and a double-breasted, three-quarter-length patent lather coat in merlot with coffee-colored, brushed cotton flat-front pants.
For dressier occasions, Azria created a number of dashing looks, including a monochromatic black crepe tuxedo jacket with matching flat-front tux pants, a long-sleeve cotton shirt and a silk scarf.
NYBASED
The retro look, especially the '60s and '70s, will continue to be directional as long as designers remain fascinated with the styles of those eras.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, as NYBASED designer Chris Serluco proved with his spring line. It was beach bum chic, with frayed jeans, plaids, madras checks and bright colors providing a carefree flavor. Fish and postcard prints gave swim- and beachwear a whimsical feel.
Unpredictable color combinations worked well, from a brown sheer knit shirt with purple twill pants to a black striped sweater with pink miniplaid pants (which somehow managed to look guy-friendly). Other great looks were white cropped pants with a striped sleeveless knit shirt in green, yellow, blue and white; an orange textured sleeveless knit shirt with frayed brown jeans and a plaid sun hat; and a handsome sheer floral green shirt with green flat-front pants.
Interspersed throughout the show were NYBASED's first runway looks for women. Colorful, feminine skirts were key, such as a swirl print circle skirt with an ivory wrap sweater and a madras check circle skirt with a pink sheer knit tank.
Alan Truong
White was the star of this show, clean and clinical -- but not without texture and variety, as evidenced by a white long-sleeve shirt with raised dots, paired with white wide-legged pants.
Truong used geometric shapes and polka dots in several instances, some of which lacked "oomph." But his light gray viscose sweaters were an attractive departure, as were casually handsome looks such as beige wide-leg pants with a long-sleeve green cable-knit linen sweater.
Pelle Pelle
This was one of the best-attended shows of the first week and easily the most spectacular. African dancers added drama and excitement to the presentation, and a shower of gold glitter during one scene highlighted gold-toned shirts on the runway.
It almost made you forget that most of what designer Marc Buchanan introduced were simply color and treatment variations on denim and leather. Most of the clothes were oversized, typical for hip-hop-styled urbanwear but not played out.
Buchanan introduced a few miniature looks for children and some super-sexy styles for women, but the bulk of the collection was for his traditionally male clientele.
Among his eye-popping looks were a four-button burnished leather blazer with python leather pants, a "comic warrior" jacket in vintage pearlized leather with polished denim carpenter jeans, a print mesh shirt with a colorblock jacket in ostrich pearl leather, and a moleskin shirt with matching jeans and jean jacket.
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