Fingers Crossed Spring 2016

Fingers Crossed creative director Ryu Hayama looked to the photography of Nick Cooper as captured in sunsets and sunrises.  “The clothes inspiration is sunset into the light. The colors are yellow, red, blue and black. Imagine when daytime is fading you get the yellows and the burgundy reds and as you come into the nighttime you have the darker colors of blue and black,” explains Hayama. “This season there is less structure because I felt there was too many details last season and this season I wanted to aim for more simplicity, so you see some belted pieces but less detailed looks married with diaphanous fabrics that expressed the polarity of masculine and feminine.”

Fingers Crossed always pushes the envelope when it comes to masculine silhouettes always looking for that fashion-forward next. This brand is not for that masculine consumer that wants the tried and the true. This is a brand, and particularly this season, that is for the outré male consumer.

Where last season, Hayama had garments that did appeal mostly to a niche consumer with some separates and outerwear that could have appeal to a wider male demographic. However, in this outing Hayama pushes his collection into a more romantic realm with much more emphasis on softer, diaphanous fabrics and looser silhouettes. All these projections toward ease of movement and tranquility were expressed in fabrications of crushed velveteen, soft-brushed cotton nylons and slouchy linens.

Though there was a lot of beauty in this collection, Hayama’s point of view for his spring 2016 collection may lay outside of the realm of what a lot of male consumers might want to wear. It is not enough to marry interesting concepts with beautiful construction; clothes have to have retail viability. Where last season, Hayama’s pushing of the envelope definitely made consumers and fashion industry professionals stand up and notice, this season Hayama’s fashion as art leaves you wanting more, but not in a good way.

—William S. Gooch