I was in Barneys on Madison this passed weekend (I needed to be cleansed after visiting the warehouse sale, brrrrrr........).
Stock review:
Women's
Rick Owens - LOTS of the drapey tops in those heavenly fabrics that Rick uses, plus every imaginable leather jacket. The jackets are cut super tiny, I think I could fit my 2.5 year old daughter in a 36 probably. Hmm... There was also one long quilted coat in military khaki. There was also a lot of stuff from his Lilies line. I guess it's a diffusion line, but you couldn't say buy the prices. $850 for a cloth jacket, hmm.....
Dries van Noten - There was a ton of stuff. They have got to be his biggest buyer. Lots of coats, $1k range, lots of tops, embroidery, the usual Dries fare. Lots of bigger sizes.
Veronique Branquinho - A fairly small selection, nothing to write home about. The usual non-descrit trenches, pants, and tops.
Ann Demeulemeester - I didn't really like the buy. Almost no jackets, one leather one, and one coat. Lots of layering pieces, tanks, tops, shirts. Prices on the leather came down a little because she didn't use that super-expensive papery leather she did in the last few seasons. There was the Lama stole present, and one silver belt. The shoe section had a gorgeous tall boot with lacing on the inside carried over from the past season (ironically there were a few pairs at the warehouse sale for the fraction of the price), and the suede looking bootie on a high heel - super sexy.
Undercover - Meh. Mostly tshirts. One hussar jacket, it was pretty cool. Some sweaters. It all looks amaturely done in person. I guess that's the aesthetic.
Margiela - Lots of black. Mostly black, actually. Tops, coats, pants. Nothing that particularly stood out.
I didn't see Yohji Yamamoto in its usual place, I wonder if they dropped him.
Men's
Carpe Diem - only boots. A low lace up boot with leather strings, and a black boot with the zipper in the back - I LOVED that one, can't stop thinking about it. $1100, that's just on a level different from mine.
Rick Owens - Horrible buy. Mostly the Drkshdw line, sweatshirts and jeans. One leather/cotton jacket which I did not like, and one leather jacket which I did not like either. No coats at all, and they were the strongest point of the collection. Really strange.
Raf Simons - Very nice buy. Gorgeous knitwear, the black sweater with the horizontal texture and a shawl collar was the stand out. Lots of classic Raf slim shirts. I also liked the long coat with metal toggle buttons, $1400.
RAF by Raf Simons - nothing to write home about.
Jil Sander by Raf Simons - pretty boring. Quality went down (and I looked only for quality in Jil Sander), but so did the prices. I guess they really want to sell it. Cotton knitwear from Jil in the fall? Unheard of! The quality of cashmere went down significantly. A cashmere Jil sweater along with a Jil shearling were the two tiems that I have always coveted and could never afford. I don't covet the sweater anymore.
Comme des Garcons - also pretty boring. That black applique featured on all the suits and shirts kills everything. I liked the bias-cut Evergreen knitwear, but the prices are astounding.
Junya Watanabe - also did not like anything. Too literate interpretation of military wear, unlike the womenswear. Some jackets, khaki pants, and khaki firmals, all at exorbitant prices.
Ann Demeulemeester - I was also not too impressed with the buy, but some of it was very decent. A particular standout was the light colored elongated blazer, really beautiful. The dress shirts were very nice and quirky as usual. My wanted item is the cropped pants, because they won't look cropped on me :-) Oh, and they bought the crazy silver leather jacket - yours for a cool $4k!!!
Dries van Noten - jeebus, I never thought he would actually make leopard print coats outside the runway, but he did. Hmm. I really liked the knitwear and the scarves, of course, but that's about it.
Margiela - pretty basic buy, nothing outstanding.
Dior Homme - destroyed jeans were there and the jeans with the contrasting waistband (<cough>margiela</cough>). from outerwear there was the super-dooper short peacoat, extremely non-practical. and the cropped grey jacket, also didn't seem too practical. lotsa skinny ties. i actually liked the saks buy better, and i'd never thought i'd say this...
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