Calvin Klein Collection Men's S14 Runway Show

Monday morning saw the manifestation of Calvin Klein's Creative Director Italo Zucchelli's interpretation of the modern man in summer. Presented in the company's European headquarters in Milan, his Spring 2014 collection was awash in hues of blue, which he translated to athletic standards as mesh and panelled letterman jackets, sleeveless vests, and monochrome silhouettes. The latter wavered somewhere between internal medicine-chic and Bal Harbour uniform--for years, my physician grandfather wore the same powder blue jacket and matching pants with a smart polyester polo.

You might interpret the look as updated suiting. Integral then, would be the tee or sweatshirt (supplanting the need for a fussy oxford), which Zucchelli provided with Rene Magritte-like prints of hot desert skies punctuated by dark black rectangles or blocked-in clouds. These were the standouts.

 

The stiff oxfords with shiny buttons that conjured up images of wayward urban cowboys and hippy sandals or matching creeper brogues (sometimes in a redundant baby blue) didn't feel as necessary.

Reverie With SUNO

SUNO, a young New York-based brand that is the brainchild of designers Max Osterweis and Erin Beatty, was recently honored at this year's CFDA fashion awards, and for good reason. Their looks often invoke characters at home in alpine vistas and on honey-colored African prairies and international cosmos. You're more likely to find ample cuts, exquisite prints and intricate embroidery than a simple black sheath on their lively runways.  

In the past, I've always thought of them as more hippy than haute (then again, they've only been around since 2008, so it's not like I have too much to go on), but their resort collection for 2014 had me turning my head so fast I practically got whiplash. I blame this look in particular: 

 

Some past covetable looks:

 

 

Yet another reason to love and respect SUNO: Their wares are made by artisans in Kenya. Following post-election violence there in 2008, Max (a longtime visitor whose mother owned a business in the Sub-Saharan country) worked to establish the brand as a way to encourage both local talent and economic growth. Since then, the SUNO duo has set up fair-trade workshops in places like India and Peru.

 

All collages are the work of Francesca Soroka.

First pic background: Franz Kline

Second pic background: Yuko Someya

CFDA Royalty

Last week, fashion's most well-respected designers and the insiders who support and wear them huddled under the slanted roofs of the Lincoln Center's Alice Tully Hall for this year's CFDA Fashion Awards. It poured outside, but inside fringe and silk columns the color of spring bouquets blossomed on attendees who paraded on a real world runway all their own.

The big winners this year were:

Womenswear Designer of the Year: Proenza Schouler's Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez

Menswear Designer of the Year: Thom Browne

Accessories Designer of the Year: Phillip Lim

 

 

Let's take a short stroll through Proenza Schouler's history with this post. And let's start at the very beginning: The name Proenza Schouler is actually a mash-up of the designers' mothers' maiden names (though they admit it's one of their biggest regrets). But such decisions can be rushed when Barneys is knocking at your door with a request. In 2002, Parsons students Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez sold their entire senior thesis to Barneys New York. Since then, the duo has earned high acclaim for their modern takes on femininity--always edgy, expertly chic, and bold. They're quintessentially New York, if you ask me. Their women are unafraid of mixing influences and require a certain armor when dressing which just so happens to kill every time.

 

 

 

All collages are the work of Francesca Soroka

 

A Fashionable Escape

What say we charter a plane to Puerto Rico? I'll pack my bags quick. Just what you see here. (T magazine)

Those oxfords, by the way, are Dries Van Noten.