Rochambeau Fall 2015

While some menswear designers are just discovering workout gear and street wear as casual work attire, Rochambeau has been solidly in that design aesthetic since their inception. Their predilection for having a penchant for street wear has always been a dominant point of reference in their collections. As any true genius, true creative are always ahead of their time. And it’s taken all these seasons for some menswear designers to finally catch up to Rochambeau’s raison d’etre.

Surrounding by three huge ice-like sculptures that contained everything from cigarette butts, to old metrocards, “I Love NYC” plastic bags and even old street telephone from the 90s, creative directors Joshua Cooper and Laurence Chandler gave even more street cred to their collection by having their collection surrounding by throwaway items found on dirty New York City streets.

Although these gritty NYC throwaways were “frozen in time,” so to speak, Rochambeau’s fall 2015 collection was not. In this outing, Cooper and Chandler were projecting what menswear would look like in a futuristic dystopian society; a deconstructed society where men still have a sense of style.

Dystopia seems to be the order of the day for many collections this season. From The Blonds to Nicholas Elliot to Chromat to Nicholas K, their perspective on world disorder, inspired by current events, is informing collections that are beginning to expand the industry’s fashion lexicon.

This fall 2015 collection was highlighted by cyberpunk, futuristic military jackets juxtaposed against relaxed pants with extended crouch. Heavy layering commented on a planet where daily temperatures run the gamut of a thermostat, and can be added or taken off depending the time of day or climate. And swaddling scarves added a modern sophistication to a collection that was at times too heavy on concept, and light on retail viability.

—William S. Gooch