Boyswear Spring 2016

“Edelweiss, edelweiss, every morning you greet me.” Can a song from the “Sound of Music” inspire a collection? Apparently so, particularly if that collection finds wicked humor in the Manson Murders with a tongue-and cheek nod to the Von Trapp Family Singers. Oh, how dark can you go?

Boyswear’s hippy dippy, psychedelic blend of the 1960s California culture with the “Sound of Music” does have a connecting strand; still, the dark humor of this bizarre combination, though intellectually interesting, creatively missed the mark at times. At the end of the day, intellectual concepts aside, it is always about the clothes. And unfortunately, when the intellectual pursuits of the creative team override the retail viability of the garments,  you are mostly left with fashion as art, or in Boywear’s case, Tyrolean-inspired costumes as play clothes. (The Von Trapp Family singers in pajama-like play clothes don’t always translate into wearable garments that consumers might be interested in.)

Still, the child-like frivolity of this collection did have some appeal and the garments were well made, though leaning toward a little on the Captain Kangaroo aesthetic. Obviously, the design team at Boyswear is talented. They just need to go back to the drawing board and figure how to take their creative mien and turn their talent into clothes that are more wearable and less of foray into child’s playtime in the sandbox!!

—William S. Gooch