text by Adam Lehrer
I was just starting to get that, “I hate fashion feeling,” while standing in line for the presentation of Honduran-born New York-based menswear designer Carlos Campos’s FW 2016 collection, I was starting to have a “I really fucking hate fashion,” moment. I mean, it’s nice to be included in this clusterfuck in one form or another, but there certainly aren’t a slew of my favorite menswear designers showing here. And some of the ones I do, like Robert Geller, Simon Miller, and to a lesser extent the somewhat overhyped Public School, must have forgot to send Autre an invitation (or not). Meanwhile, I’m sitting in line for 35 minutes for Carlos Campos. Not like this was a Comme des Garcons show or anything.
But nevertheless, the show went on. Campos’s ideal male customer, “a clean rock star,” sounds utterly boring. We already have John Varvatos, and really who can actually say that John Varvatos is their favorite designer? Maybe some frat guy with a little doh to spend at Nordstrom rack. But Campos’s FW 2016 collection was nice, with earthy palette of camel, white, and navy suiting, coats, and trousers. I quite liked the white overcoats that were a little boxy. The soundtrack, that started with traditional salsa music and moved into a David Bowie-propelled finale that brought some life to the collection overall.
So, some other highlights that I haven’t been able to see in-person but who needs to see anything in person to formulate an opinion, really? Patrik Ervell released images of his FW 2016 collection and I really think he’s still the best menswear designer in New York. He takes conceptual ideas and forms them into a palatable brand identity: excellent shirting, elegant bombers made of beautiful materials, and the best and most wearable jeans this side of Acne or Levi’s. It’s sort of a retro-futurist (ergh, that term) take on the Brooklyn artiste or poet or something, as evidenced here by a peacoat in green mohair, bombers with mohair collars, and a white alpaca jacket. There wasn’t one thing I wouldn’t wear. According to Vogue there are whispers of Patrik Ervell taking over menswear for an established house, and that would be pretty righteous if he found the right place. Daiki Suzuki’s Engineered Garments FW 2016 collection was what you would expect: mindblowing use of rich materials, sometimes in the same look. Excellent clothes for a Brooklyn bartender who makes more money than all other Brooklyn bartenders. Robert Geller’s predictably sick collection for FW offered an incredibly rich selection of dark Yohji-referencing poetic work and leisure wear in sheer, night black, while moving into earth greens and tans. The standout look to me was a green leather workwear suit under a mackintosh coat in black with tan trim, When the hell is Geller going to be considered the monumental designer that he is? The work he does now is far more desirable than anything he did with Alexandre Plokhov at his side with Cloak.
Click here to see the full runway presentation.