Designers mix and match luxury with function
NEW YORK CITY — Smart fashion designers understand why the fashion business is more about bottom lines than hemlines. The latter always changes while the former is an ever-present constant.
So when you’re already catering to a market that generally cares little about fashion and buys mainly out of necessity — read “men” — and then the economy goes and gets all soft and sluggish, it’s time to rein in creative abandon and produce clothes that are handsome, familiar and uncompromisingly masculine. That’s the direction fall menswear appeared to be heading in the first day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week here. It’s been said that no one can dress a man better than a woman.
Or, better yet, a stylish woman who loves men. The new Nautica line sent out by creative director Mirian Lamberth was designed for a man’s man, a gentlemanly fellow who wants to be nattily and comfortably attired whether he’s playing the sport, watching it or is owner of the team. Some wondered how Nautica, a brand with its feet (and name) planted firmly in sailing and other nautical sports, would weather the departure several years ago of genius creative director David Chu.
With Lamberth at the helm, skepticism should evaporate. She understands the obvious: that cold weather is time to dress in layers. For too many men, unfortunately, that translates into stuffy and sloppy. That makes her aesthetic all the more refreshing, with luxuriously layered looks, the ideal fusion of sporty and sophisticated, athletic and elegant. Picture a gray wool sportcoat with navy ribbon trim over a navy wool sweater with cable knitting and navy pinstripe cargo pants.