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Fresh is right. Nice to see something new out of NY. Can't back all of it, but I really want to see that 4th coat in person.. er fabric. Some of it looks synthetic despite the interview. Silk?
It could be rayon, which technically could be called natural. Glad you like it. I also like the silhouette - more formal on top and more casual, slim pant on the bottom.
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde
Abdul at Nepenthes is a great dude and I've always admired his flair for mixing and matching the in-house labels at Nepenthes with things that fall more in-step with the 'SZ' aesthetic. The vision presented here is definitely streamlined and perhaps too minimal in range for me, but I'm definitely excited to see more from Abdul and company. NY is a strangely commercial fashion environment and it's refreshing to see quality, yet different, takes on menswear coming out of NYC.
I saw the SS14 collection with Faust and was also impressed by the fabric and detailing quality. Everything was very well made, the fabrics felt great and the focus on comfort and wearability was very clear. I tried on some of the jackets and they felt like wearing a soft sweater. The long coat was definitely my favourite piece, perhaps somewhat reminiscent of Devoa in terms of the focus on anatomy and fitment.
"AVANT GUARDE HIGHEST FASHION. NOW NOW this is it people, these are the brands no one fucking knows and people are like WTF. they do everything by hand in their freaking secret basement and shit."
nicelynice from styleforum checked it out in person as well and had this to say about it:
"Update: the fabric, fit, and construction is the best I've seen. Definitely like Devoa taken fo the next level. All the colors had a unique and amazing fabric
$2000 price point on jackets and $500 for jeans and shirts - quite rough"
Strong endorsement for me... would love to check it out at some point.
Was hyperbole-posting by smartphone on Styleforum, but yes, I was very impressed with the collection. Isetan had jackets, t-shirts, button-ups, and denim with knitted inserts.
I didn't try anything other than the jackets, but they worked exactly how I had hoped they would. While not as strictly anatomically constructed as Devoa, they are definitely tailored with movement in mind. Knit panels in the underarms allow full range of motion for the arms, the fabrics feel very breathable, and the shape is fitted without being tight. All this is completely invisible, however, because it simply looks like a well-tailored jacket that would integrate well across a variety of styles. I saw the jackets in three fabrics, black, grey, and the black with white texture, and each was fantastic in own unique way.
Continuing with the Devoa comparison, I'm always rooting for Devoa as I love comfortable clothing that looks sharp, but I haven't found a lot of Devoa pieces that work well when taken outside of that brand's aesthetic, like the slim arms on jackets or the stacks on pants that just don't sit well with the clothes I wear. The Abasi Rosborough garments feel much more like a modern interpretation of a classic wardrobe, with the special details noticeable only to the wearer or on very close inspection. Very curious to see how this brand develops.
nicelynice from styleforum checked it out in person as well and had this to say about it:
"Update: the fabric, fit, and construction is the best I've seen. Definitely like Devoa taken fo the next level. All the colors had a unique and amazing fabric
$2000 price point on jackets and $500 for jeans and shirts - quite rough"
Strong endorsement for me... would love to check it out at some point.
I am guessing those are Japanese market prices? If so, then here they'd be 30-40% less.
Fashion is a form of ugliness so intolerable that we have to alter it every six months - Oscar Wilde
The clothes in the images look good and I like some details like the elongated sleeves and the coat strap. From what people are saying everything also seems well made. I'd love to be able to see the clothes in person. Any word on NY stockists or opportunities to see the clothing?
A couple of things about the interview seem incongruous to me though. Rosborough says he had a dream where he was dismayed by only seeing classic suits and shirts as menswear offerings. He adds that the suit is outdated in design and function (I happen to agree). But then he and Abasi go out and make a blazer by traditional methods. I'm not knocking a fully canvassed blazer. If you're going to make a blazer that's the way to do it. But if the concern was that menswear hasn't moved forward in a century and a half, why make blazers and classic coats an important part of your line? That's not going to move menswear forward.
Also, the last line about natural fabrics only also doesn't seem to fit with the original goal of taking menswear forward. Rosborough says natural fabrics have evolved to perfection over millions of years and synthetics don't compare in terms of performance. But that's factually not true. They don't look as nice or feel as luxurious, but there are situations where synthetics outperform natural fabrics by far (abrasion resistance being one). I'm glad they use only natural fabrics, as such garments are becoming more difficult to find. So I'm by no means saying they should eschew natural fabrics for synthetics, but based on their goal I wouldn't think that the use of synthetics would be against their philosophy of clothing design.
I'm not trying to tear these guys down, as the clothes look good and by a few members' accounts fit well and are expertly constructed. I just want to get clarification of the designers' motivations and talk a bit about what it means to advance menswear right now.
An artist is not paid for his labor, but for his vision. - James Whistler
Originally posted by BBSCCP
I order 1 in every size, please, for every occasion
Greg and Abdul are a great team and some of the most genuine and humble designers I've met. It's always great to see the end results of peoples hard work ( I sell fabrics to them sometimes along with many other designers. My day job.). Glad Faust himself posted this.
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