Saturday, January 15, 2011

GUCCI Men's RTW S/S 2010 GSB9 Parachute High-Tops

Sometimes style can (and should) be escapist.
Who do you want to be?
Where do you want to go?
How do you want to feel?
I ponder all these things whenever I am considering a substantial purchase...

Until extremely recently, I had never been a Gucci fan.  At all.  I lumped it in with Versace in terms of a House whose menswear seemed directionless, uninspired, and tired, with everything slathered in loud branding of questionable taste...

That is until Frida Giannini's very anti-Gucci scuba-themed Spring Summer 2010 collection.  This parachute-inspired pair was featured with multiple different runway looks, and may be the most creative pair of men's luxury high-tops to come out in the last couple years.  Nothing even remotely resembles them.  They're athletic, elegant, futuristic, clean, and well-proportioned.  Think 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea meets Tron Legacy meets Gattaca. The white leather and nylon pairs exceptionally well with the grey nylon straps, silver buckles and dark navy piping.

Penelope was waiting for Odysseus for a long time while he was away on this shoe Odyssey--my odd proportions extend to my shoe size as well, and thanks to the staff at the (now relocated) Gucci in Tysons Square, Virginia, I was able to have the last pair in the U.S. in my size shipped in from King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Most spectacular compliment received while wearing these shoes?  I looked as though I had just walked from the set of 2001: A Space Odyssey.  And...worth it.

LANVIN Men's RTW F/W 2010 Deconstructed Jacket

I had intended for this Lanvin jacket to have been included in my previous posting in which I sang high praise about my recently-acquired cardigan and two-button jacket, but, after much debate about the fit, I decided to return it and go up to a European size 52. That said, the piece is extraordinary enough to merit its own posting.

Fit.  In order to fully appreciate the cut and proportions of Lanvin, the proper fit it essential, lest details be  stretched beyond recognition if the sizing is too small, or lost unnecessarily in rippling if the sizing is too large.  Come now Goldilocks, get off that big bed, walk pass the small one and go to sleep on the made just for you.  This jacket, fortuitously, feels as though it was fit just for my odd proportions: long torso, long arms, large shoulders: not exactly fit model.

Detailing.  Deconstruction, deconstruction, deconstruction--and, ruggedness? As the deconstruction is  pronounced and obvious, (I would hesitate to refer to it at all as detailing), the Lanvin aspects of this jacket render it much more pronounced and worked than my other more subtle Lanvin pieces (my graffiti t-shirt notwithstanding.)  But that's what makes this garment so unique: exposed/deconstructed aspects can be found along each side of the middle zipper, side pockets, under each sleeve and along the cuffs, along the top of the shoulders, and across the bottom hem.  The slightly cropped body and the wool collar gives this jacket a decidedly classic American 1950s biker-meets-football player letterman's jacket look and feel.
The color is a gunmetal bluish-grey.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

LANVIN Men's RTW F/W 2010 Cardigan & Two-Button jacket

I've mentioned before here, on one my favorite blogs written by a good friend, that Lanvin, (arguably like Dolce&Gabbana), benefits from the collective arrangement of having two geniuses at its creative helm: Alber Elbaz for the women's collection; and, Lucas Ossendrijver for the men's.  Lanvin embodies a unique design aesthetic that I currently find to be incredibly intriguing in high end menswear at the moment: a deconstructed, simple, and modern take on traditional pieces.  My two newest acquisitions (in my favorite color) fully embody this refinement and will make quietly sophisticated and confident sartorial statements for years to come.

The Two-Button jacket includes some exquisite detailing, apparent both up close and from a distance.  The deconstruction along the shoulders and the sleeves paired with the contrasting charcoal nylon ribbon taping along the edges of the lapels, pockets, and cuffs make this piece, to the discerning eye, recognizably Lanvin.


This impeccably-tailored cardigan includes subtle detailing around the buttons and the V, as well as muted deconstructed hems along the shoulders that creates strong lines across the top of the back akin to the look of mini epaulets.