Rochambeau FW 2016 Runway Presentation During New York Fashion Week Men's

New York-based brand Rochambeau, designed by duo Josh Cooper and Laurence Chandler, makes no bones about being rooted heavily in hip-hop culture. Their FW 2016 presentation felt like a short if totally dope hip-hop party, using the catalyst of dueling DJs blaring ‘90s hip-hop favorites, from Gangstarr to Illmatic to Reasonable Doubt. The bass was shaking the room. The collection was inspired by the 1992 Tupac-starring film Juice, and as a result oversized sportswear figures in as the primary motif of the collection. The looks were very clean, with navy blue nylon track pants and matching nylon turtleneck as perhaps my favorite. Some were a bit safe, such as a black bomber over a black hoodie (something we all see on the street enough to not need to be reminded of it on the runway). But then Rochambeau would redeem itself with something totally unique, such as the slightly loose oversized patterned track pants, or that same pattern shown as a button down shirt under a loosely tailored varsity jacket with nice looking oversized khakis. Rochambeau has established its brand DNA and sticks to it here, perhaps paving way for more grandiose statements to come. Text and photographs by Adam Lehrer