"Quick Hits"
In rough order it’s been Saint Laurent, Gucci, Balenciaga, Prada, Louis, and the Pandemic at the top of men’s high-fashion over the past 5 years. We've discussed the continuation of fashion shows this Spring and Hermes was the collection that resonated most with me. The brand has also launched its first men's watch collection. Will this Fall be the season I finally commit to a true quality over quantity approach? Probably not, but Hermes has me feeling inspired.
I find myself continually being drawn to zip-ankle pants. See the Supreme Flight Cargo Pants this season, Raf last Fall, or the aforementioned Hermès show. We're in kind of a weird place with pants - post-jogger, post-skinny, not-90s-baggy, workwear without the work, and elastic in the waists of dress pants. I keep the zippers on the outside as inside ankle zippers are sure to get your day out-of -whack. Trust the science.
As we wait for Kanye's "perfect hoodie" with Gap, there are several other soft and boxy options to get us through Spring. The Fear of God Season 7 Vintage Hoodie is a personal favorite, featuring snaps on the hoodie's necklike, perfect boxy fit, and vintage wash effect. It will be a long time before they find another place to put snaps on a hoodie. (Kanye had them inside the pouch as early as last Fall but the media doesn’t want you to know that. Maybe his hoodies will release one day.)
Speaking of Ye, Donda contributor Mark Seekings released his first collection this week, featuring blank and graphic-embellished hoodies. The velvet truckers and painstakingly-developed denim are other standout pieces. The campaign for the collection featured Julian Casablancas of Strokes fame, still at the epicenter of cool 20 years after his band launched a new era of rock.
If you don't want to act as a sneaker hedge fund guy StockX, take a look at the work done by Nigel Cabourn and Mihara Yasuhiro. Mihara had an excellent and influential run with Puma in the 00s.
New Balance has also been on fire lately with its Aime Leon Dore collaborations and 990s series reissues. The eYe Junya Watanabe work on the BB480, like the ALD collaborations, resurfaces a forgotten New Balance basketball model that's a breath of fresh air relative to the same retros we typically see in the marketplace.
By ZK