Menswear Moving to New, Soft Fibers for Spring / Summer
Ever since Milanese designer Giorgio Armani unveiled his “soft” approach to menswear several seasons ago, designers on both shores have rallied around featherweight fabrics such as silk and rayon to achieve a similar look.
For spring/summer 1991, fabric suppliers have targeted the “soft sell” by introducing delicate new weaves like polynosic (washable) rayon, iridescent rayon, textured raw silk, multiblend seersucker and, most importantly, micro-fiber, a wrinkle-resistant synthetic blend with a rich, soft feel. And menswear designers--no longer threatened by man-made fibers--have been quick to adopt these options.
Micro-fiber was among the most highly touted fabrics at two fall menswear exhibitions in Beverly Hills over the weekend--Mode Coast, primarily consisting of contemporary American designer lines, and Eurostyle, which focused more on European imports.
It was used for everything from blouson jackets and sport coats to suits, trousers and casual shirts. And nearly every designer--including America’s Richard Mishaan and Andrew Fezza, Canada’s Jean Claude Poitras, Italy’s Mario Valentino and Germany’s Falke designed by Jeff Sayre--incorporated the look into their own unique fashion statements.
Likewise, anything iridescent--whether it be a lightweight blouson jacket, casual trousers and shorts or a slouchy suit, sport shirt or sweater--found its way into most menswear collections for next spring.
While fabric is clearly the fashion message, slouchier shapes, safari and nautically inspired details on tailored garments, color-blocking and patchwork ideas on casual sportswear, and subtle embroideries and fabric piecing on fashion basics, all represented the stylistic messengers of these new cloths.
One of the best and brightest uses of the micro-fiber and iridescent fabric concepts came from New York’s Richard Mishaan.
His tailored sportswear looks included three-button jackets, asymmetrical blousons and six-button safari-inspired coats paired with loose-fitting stirrup pants, all shown in micro-fiber and colored in a soft, desert palette of dusty taupes and tans.
New York’s Andrew Fezza emphasized micro-fiber in casual sport shirts and combined these soft, uncomplicated pieces with a crepe, shawl-collared, two-button jacket and silky trousers. “People are still looking for something a little different,” offers Barbara Roche, a partner in New York-based International Attire, which imports the Mario Valentino collection. For spring the difference at Valentino is the company’s use of micro-fiber on suede-like shorts, blazers and vests.
Marienbad, based in New York and known for intricately patterned and richly textured knits, offered a cleaner fashion direction for spring 1991 with a new range of (Chinese Shar-Pei) dog-inspired prints on puckered knits.
Falke of Germany, designed by Jeff Sayre, had one of the most focused and original collections offered at both shows. His “cool blues” grouping of jazz-inspired sportswear features embroidered guitars and saxophones on crisp cotton shirts.
ABS Men, a Los Angeles-based design house that traditionally re-interprets European designs for the American market, previewed wool gabardine blazers with hoods, worn with slim-fitting stirrup pants. And there are color-blocked and pieced blazers, a look featured in Europe last year.
Although a number of retailers at both exhibitions expressed approval for the new fabric developments, most felt the spring collections lacked a significant new fashion direction. Neckwear fared better, with novelty prints as a dominant theme. Hawaiian patterns and Miro, Picasso and Dali-inspired abstracts were standouts.
Two labels, Artfully Tied and Lorenzo Vega, made a political or satirical statement with their respective collections of 1918 Russian Poster art patterns and patchwork-pieced “quilt” ties.
