Perry Ellis Spring 2015

The active guy in the city and his adaptation to that urban landscape inspired Perry Ellis’ spring/summer 2015 “Changes and Horizontals” collection. The visual design aspect incorporates the linear elements of grids and architecture and the intersections that a person passes every day on the street.

The fabrication of this collection is a bit more technical. As described by brand creative director Michael Maccari, the design team focused on the garments inside and out, making things lighter, more functional, and more seasonally appropriate. They began with a pure base and built upon that, using color, grids, lines, shapes within shapes, and reflective fabrics that are commonly found within the cityscape.

The silhouettes stand firmly where some menswear trends are projecting to: less skinny, more full-bodied, shorts to the knee, pants to the ankle, less Euro, more American sportswear. The selected color scheme seems to effortlessly camouflage itself in the urban palette. The colors are trans-seasonal, done in spring fabrications; deep reds and blues, a variance of shades of khaki and a strong black and white presence. The geometric and natural prints marry especially well into the city theme, reminding us that intricate design, whether made my man or Mother Nature, is always around us.

The heritage and future of the brand are also important elements in this collection. Says Maccari, “[we’re] always looking back to what Perry would have done; keeping one foot in the past keeps the brands DNA alive and then moving that forward. So the idea that having dress fabrics in casual silhouettes or more active silhouettes, there’s always that one foot in, one foot out kind of idea; one foot here, one foot in the future. It’s just playing with shapes and fabrics and finding that balance; that’s what keeps it moving forward and keeps it a little bit practical as well. There’s a very strong history in it, but there’s also the approach that it doesn’t have to be taken too seriously.  There’s a fun element to it, and there’s a realness to it.”

—Carl Ayers

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