Menswear was weird this year. Suits? Dark grey suits? With slim tailoring? And black overcoats? And portfolio bags? What are they trying to do here, sell me something I want? I'd rather dress like a
Mongol warrior and wear
full-length skirts, #thanksnothanks. It was bizarre though, I actually enjoyed more than 50% of the Paris and Milan Fall 2012 shows. Even perennial least-favorites like
Dries Van Noten and
Acne put together pleasant ensembles, not only featuring items I would consider wearing, but entire outfits that actually looked nice. I was disappointed by Kim Jones's second showing for Louis Vuitton (but then, his
debut was an awfully tough act to follow), and Mark Jacobs didn't put forward anything especially remarkable (but then, how could you beat his
Spring RTW?), but everyone else, from
Prada to
Alexander Wang, put on sharp, respectable, almost (gasp!) traditional shows. I could go on about this for hours (that
Valentino hair styling! Those
Carven pocket protectors!), but there are few businesses less FOOD JUST than the fashion industry, so let's focus on the good guys. That's limited, if my scan is correct, to...two. I suppose a lot of American designers do their menswear shows during New York RTW week, but it's still a bit discouraging to see the absence of American-made lines. There were a couple of them, though, and they both put on fantastic shows this season. Let's hear it for Mark McNairy and Thom Browne.
I haven't warmed up to Mark McNairy as much as the rest of the menswear world has, but I thought his
collection for Woolrich Woolen Mills this season was fantastic. He blends the urban styling of his sneaker-head days with the preppy sensibility of his tenure at J. Press, and brings both to the forefront of his WWM American-heritage base. The result is very modern, very timeless, and, most importantly, very American. Look at the ensemble above. The oxford is straight out of
Take Ivy. The boots are back-country work shoes in their simplest incarnation. The hood, the bunched ankles, the buttoned top button are urban tough-guy white-boy staples. McNairy's WWM man can do anything. He's equally happy stomping your face in at a New Jersey bus stop as he is chopping down trees. And he does it all wearing the cute wool cardigan his grandmother bought him. Underneath the cute wool cardigan he inherited from his grandfather.
He even reads the newspaper! And he wears a tie with his Timberlands! Once again, Ivy league charm gracefully paired with working class grit, anchored by self-aware traditionalism. McNairy isn't trying to fool anyone; the newspaper fits into a mesh pocket on a bright yellow quilt-knit. He's not denying modernity. He's just trying to find a spot where traditionalism still has a place.
In the end, I think this collection will best be remembered for its use of the baseball cap. McNairy, like
Ebbets Field, returns the cap to its roots. He constructs it from wool, maintains its traditional shape, and wears it like its meant to be worn: straight and low. The result is something tougher than any absurdly-angled, straight-billed fitted could ever produce. The drab flannels and the thick laces just add to the effect. The future of street fighting is American traditionalism.
That's certainly the case with
Thom Browne's latest collection. Bizarre and unsettling as always, Thom's latest was slightly more comprehensible than usual: it's just punks vs. jocks, obviously. What's interesting about the whole show is that the punks and the jocks are basically wearing the same things. Every look is made up of traditional, extremely preppy standards (blazers, anchor prints, green and pink striping). It's not even as if the punks wear them all that differently than the jocks. Sure, they add spikes, bondage masks, and disgustingly low waistline, but the general look is essentially the same.
If the punks didn't look like that scary guy from the American Horror Story commercials, and the jocks didn't look like disfigured steroid addicts, all of these clothes would be completely respectable. The letter jacket on the first jock, the critter blazer on the second punk, the tuxedos on the last two looks are all timeless classics, and I imagine Mr. Browne will be selling them in more reasonable forms in his New York shop this fall. On the runway, however, they've been distorted into something horrific. Maybe it's a commentary on postmodern young people and their ability to manipulate materials to their specifications, no matter what the original purpose was (what's less punk than prep? What's more punk than slashing up preppy staples? What's the meaning of either to the deconstructed mind of technology-addled youth?). Maybe it's a commentary on the traditionalist roots which continue to run through all American style. I like to see it as a commentary the importance of size and build, and how that impacts one's overall style and look. Half the time, skinny kids look like punks because they're skinny, and kids with broad shoulders look like jocks because they were born with broad shoulders. They can both be wearing a flannel, but it's the scrawny one who's going to be called a hipster. Anyway, I liked this collection. I thought it was Thom Browne's funniest, most thought-provoking show in awhile, whacky without completely going off the deep-end, like he did
last June. I usually hate this sort of thing, but I have a soft-spot for Thom. What else can you really do after reinventing the suit?
Thom Browne and
Woolrich Woolen Mills are both made well in the USA. Woolrich is conceivably affordable; Thom Browne is not. Both are doing awesome things in the world of menswear. Fight on, America.
-Ben "The Most Awesome" Tuthill
Great ppost thank you
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