The first show of Fashion Week is always greeted with an air of excitement. But, still, a few words to the wise on the matter.
Wear flat shoes because you will be standing around – a lot. Wear clothing that can take you from New York’s freezing weather to the furnace — like, for example, temperatures inside Lincoln Center. You will not look so cute in your new cashmere, fur-trimmed Ralph Lauren sweater coat if you look like your face is a melting candle. People really dress up for the shows and some of the looks outside can be just as fierce as those in the auditorium. Shout out to the handsome gentleman in a cornflower blue coat and fur Afghan hat and to the girl in her tightly fitted gray dress with the silver belt. However, to the lady sporting a leopard print dress, matching headband, fishnets and fringe ankle boots – you are going to attract attention for all the wrong reasons. Your look was more “hooker” than “come hither”.
At Duckie Brown, the men’s wear collection that Steven Cox and Daniel Silver started in 2001 with the mission of “dressing men beautifully” was accomplished, if a little uneven. The Observer was seated next to a male fashion expert named Joshua, who was a more than helpful guide to some of the styles. We confessed that when it came to men’s wear we just tried to picture our husband in the clothes, Joshua said, “That’s where you are wrong, honey, trying to picture your straight husband in these clothes.”
The collection began with combination of over-sized baggy sweatshirts and street wear and segued into beautifully tailored coats in a surprising array of textures and fabrics. It was a disparate collection in some ways – the Bark Shearling coat made the model look like a very chic grey Eskimo, and there was a tailored white suit with oversize pockets that looked like it would have be perfect for a day at the races or maybe a spot of croquet. The jewel of the collection, it was unanimously agreed, turned out to be the brilliantly named Bruised Tweed Wrap Coat. The look initially seemed like a riff on a woman’s Chanel boucle jacket but instead revealed the colors of mustard, corral and gray – an entirely masculine affair.
