NEW YORK FASHION WEEK: MEN'S FALL/WINTER 2009/2010

In New York designers showed their own idea on how to dress in a bad economy.

In Nice Collective the clothes are post-apocalyptic. There’s a great amount of dishevelment from the show that was filled with soft, military-inspired canvas pants with articulated knees, and washed, laser-cut leathers with asymmetrical seams were paired with densely layered gauzy knits or nothing at all, hooded scarves and the canvas parkas.

Tommy Hilfiger shows a lot of classic clothes and straightforward sportswear. Hilfiger offered men camel, flannel, hounds tooth, pinstripe for work and shearing flight jacket, car coats, and a navy trench for weekend dressing. Hilfiger added some spice mint, magenta, and lilac— in cashmere turtlenecks. The show had polish and great commercial appeal. Michael Kars also came down firmly on the side of classic, practical and elegant clothes for men. Kars offered impeccably tailored staples in expensive-looking fabrics.

G-Star’ lined up luxury utilitarian clothes for men. Wardrobes from Great Depression were the inspiration for the label Diesel Black Gold. Suits patterned with variants of Prince of Wales checks came pre-rumpled, stained and mended. Renzo Rosso offered a lot of washed and dyed looking pieces. There were side-striped conductor's pants worn with suspenders and thirties-era work shirts with oversized buttons that were worn, weathered, and stained.

In Michael Bastian, Jack Kerouac’s “On the Road” and the road movie “My Own Private Idaho” was inspiration of the show. So the collection was mixed of preppy wardrobes with grunge look. There a lot of camouflage pieces, hunting garb and alpine accents added a strong outdoor flavor to the collection. Z Zegna’s show featured plenty of the modern tailoring expected from the brand, but with a sense of dandyism and even frivolity. The textiles and surfaces in the collection ranged from super slick to totally matte, with fabrics that evoked wet asphalt in between.

My Top 5 Show in New York

1) Calvin Klein Collection
2) Y3
3) Trovata
4) Libertine
5) Robert Geller

BAND OF OUTSIDERS