Written by Stefano Imbert in Events on the 22nd July 2015

Gracing Skylight Studios in Tribeca during New York’s newly resurrected Fashion Week: Men’s were the major menswear designers, from Polo Ralph Lauren to Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors to Calvin Klein. Among them were also up and coming new hip talents, like Michael Bastian, Tim Coppens, and Public School. Without forcing the designers to squeeze their men’s collections in between all the women’s brands as during the more female focused New York Fashion Week, this was a very welcome change to have all the focus on menswear. I had the pleasure to attend the Perry Ellis collection runway show.

There’s a constant challenge to redefine the classic suit for the office, and this time Michael Maccari, the Creative Director at Perry Ellis, was inspired by seeing business men leaving the gym in a mix of office and gym wear.

At their show, Perry Ellis introduced suit jackets that are more like shirts as the fabric used is light and airy. And layered under the jackets are matching colored light shirts over matching colored t-shirts. Skinny trousers end just below the ankle, but also on the runway were bermuda shorts paired with matching colored leggings underneath. The colors vary from very flattering ochre to hues of blues and grays in printed fabrics creating unexpected textures. 

Among the collection is their more sporty and outdoorsy approach, which is again composed by layering pieces of silky bomber-like jackets or flowing hooded coats over see-through striped t-shirts or overlong tailed shirts. The collection is highly wearable and stylized, just enough to be a sure success in stores all over the world next season. One last note: we have seen a lot of “mandals” among summer footwear during Fashion Week: Men’s but none were as light and sophisticated as the sandals seen during this Perry Ellis collection. 

*Illustration also by Stefano Imbert

We attend the Spring/Summer NWFW 2016 collection show by Perry Ellis at Men’s New York Fashion Week.