SIKI IM Fall 2016

The “Undead” as inspiration for a menswear collection, odd you might think? An odd is right. But, if any menswear brand can pull it off, SIKI IM is the brand that can do it.

For several years SIKI IM has established itself as a brand that always looked to the unique and outré for inspiration. In previous outings SIKI IM has looked to goth themes, Safari North African chic, and boyish 90’s playful styles. As most fashion pundits have noted, a wide range of influences is the norm for SIKI IM, combining the outré with urban sophistication and fashion-forward sensibility.

That said; for fall 2016 SIKI IM looked to the “Undead.” Not an unusual direction for the brand in that SIKI IM is a lover of vampire lore. Still, can SIKI IM take this macabre motif and make wearable clothes with a certain amount of chicness and sophistication.

The answer is, yes!! Though some of the ghostly painted faces and dark red paint oozing out of the mouth of the models was at times ghastly theatrical and a bit distracting, the garments were a perfect melding of great layering and a modern distillation on restrained volume. And a couple of garment combinations that were shirtless or excluded tops lent an element of sensuality and urban swagger to the collection.

SIKI IM’s color palette choice of shades of grey, oxblood, black, and aubergine made the brand’s “Undead” reference more tangible. And the fabric choices and design silhouettes of luxurious cashmeres, woolen car coats and blazers, Teflon-coated canvas jackets and pants gave this fall 2016 collection a distinct modern projection. SIKI IM also combined this collection with separates from its extension line DEN IM. Though DEN IM’s fall 2016 inspiration was based on German art and the Bauhaus aesthetic, there was a connecting thread that worked well in pairing the extension line with SIKI IM.

—William S. Gooch