Canali Spring 2015 Menswear

From look one, Andrea Pompilio made it clear that this wasn’t going to be just another Canali collection. What followed was a clinic on how a house with such history can update (a buzzword for historically entrenched brands) without compromising.

That first outfit—white sneakers, narrow checked pants with exaggerated cuffs, and a sculptural linen-silk trench—wasn’t what we’ve come to expect from the eighty-year-old label. And that’s exactly why Pompilio, the newly appointed creative consultant, is there. This debut offering from him is a capsule collection that will coexist with Canali’s main line. “I introduced what is Andrea Pompilio to the brand,” said the designer backstage after the show. “For me, this is like an homage to Canali. This is Canali through my eyes.”

Cashmere T-shirts gave suiting a dressed-down look, made distinctive by Pompilio’s keen sense of color—blue and burgundy paired with dusty teal; pale pink and white calfskin sneakers. Details borrowed from sportswear lent a casualness to the clothes. Bermuda shorts with fifties prints, cut above the knee and paired with slouchy socks and sneakers, appeared retro and cool. Calfskin suede dyed molten orange made sharp looks unexpectedly buoyant.

As exciting as this presentation was, it was still just a capsule, suggesting that Canali isn’t quite ready to hand over the reins to a young star just yet. But as with any octogenarian, we can’t expect the brand to move too fast. For now, let’s just hope Pompilio sticks around.

Patrik Ervell Spring 2015 Menswear

Furniture and clothes aren’t all that different. We buy them both based on comfort, necessity, and style. One of the main differences between the two is the amount of time you expect them to last. And there begins Patrik Ervell’s Spring 2015 collection thesis.

Ervell borrowed materials from interior design—polyurethane, vinyl, racing leather, and a set that featured a wall of venetian blinds—to create a collection that was minimal, structured, sporty, and classic. “It’s a tricky thing,” he said backstage before the show. “How do you make it convincing in menswear? There’s a strangeness to this that kind of makes it like a sculpture on the body.”

The clothes didn’t stray from what Ervell does best: sharply cut trousers with slightly oversize, subtly athletic outerwear. Coats were cut with exaggerated venting. Knit jersey pullovers were reminiscent of retro, low-tech North Face pieces. Trenches and macs in a heavy, supple polyurethane fabric with raw hems appeared laser cut. Metallic turquoise shorts and track pants added vivid, industrial color. The final look featured a nearly perfect black calfskin police jacket that Ervell remarked resembles a beautiful car. On the runway it did.

Will any of it last as long as a couch or an armchair? Probably. Whether or not we actually want indestructible clothes—part of the fun is in desiring and acquiring, not just wearing—Ervell makes an important proposition. This is fashion week, after all, and as thousands of looks blur into a season, one must consider how much of what we see will endure.

Michael Bastian Spring 2015 Menswear

“The Southwest is a little bit of a challenge,” said Michael Bastian at his studio in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood. “I really wanted to avoid all the clichés—no cowboy, no poncho, no fringes. You know, how real guys in that part of the U.S. would dress, or my dream of how they would dress.” For Spring 2015, Bastian took his collection of sportswear to Arizona. “Maybe because I grew up in Rochester, but the desert Southwest to me is exotic,” the designer said.

Clichés were mostly avoided, but not entirely. There were embroidered Western shirts, suede outerwear, and bronze feather accessories from the George Frost x Michael Bastian collaboration. The best expression of the theme was in the dusty hues, soft, textured fabrics, and faded denim. As always with Bastian, the tailoring stood head and shoulders above the rest of the collection. Sharp suits in a linen-blend “denim,” plaid, herringbone, and windowpane were the highlights. All kinds of trousers were reimagined in typical Bastian fashion. Riding pants and cargos were stripped down; motocross pants were made summery in faded canvas and denim; and slim, tapered sweatpants were done in gray piqué.

Bastian’s vision for guys in the Southwest favored glamour over ruggedness. There was something louche in the mostly unbuttoned shirts, short shorts, and, of course, the quintessential Michael Bastian racer swimsuit. But the ease of the collection was almost too easy. The designer might have successfully avoided clichés, but all of the softening and fading seems to have removed the grit that makes the Southwest special.