In this second season of New York Fashion Week: Men’s (NYFWM) several menswear designers have instituted a different approach to presenting their menswear collections. Some of these designers realize that having the typical runway/presentation is no longer sufficient to attract industry professionals and consumers. In an era were images from runways/presentations are posted immediately on social media, live streamed, and reviewed in online sites, getting and keeping consumers attention is an arduous task.
For fall 2016 Greg Lauren went for the ultimate attention-grabbing moments. And it worked!! Though his fall 2016 collection included his brand’s DNA of a deconstructed, layered aesthetic with a heavy nod to Americana Western themes, Lauren’s fall 2016 presentation extended his brand’s DNA to include a more athletic, robust male aesthetic that was missing from previous outings.
Using pugilistic themes as inspiration for his fall 2016 collection, replete with a boxing ring and other fisticuff paraphernalia, Lauren divided his presentation into different scenes. With the pugilistic theme being the main theme, Lauren also included an artist theme, a winter beach theme, shoe shine gang, journal gang, and re-interpretation of men’s suiting theme.
Lauren is making an impression in menswear for deconstructing traditional menswear silhouettes and reconstructing those recognizable silhouettes into something innovative and thought provoking. Take for example, the 18th century men’s suit with tails, Lauren deconstructs this classic model and reassembles this look into a current distillation on men’s suiting seen through the lens of comfort and casual ease that is appealing to the modern male consumer. The hoodie is reinterpreted and refreshed into a California beach-inspired outerwear parka.
Now, the question that comes to mind with Lauren’s design aesthetic is if his oeuvre will appeal to a wide demographic of male consumers. Probably not; however, niche markets are becoming bigger in menswear and Lauren’s design aesthetic fits right into that category of menswear consumer brands that gives the chic, sophisticated consumer something fashion forward and different.
Standout looks in the fall 2016 collection were Greg Lauren’s charcoal tent stripped Baja parka, charcoal dinner jacket, hooded patchwork long flight studio jacket, and linen patchwork tux shirt with square rib.
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