NYC Fashion Week Continues: The Highs, the Lows, the Hotpants

Our NYC Fashion Week Spring 2007 coverage plods on like a vacant runway model wearing something ill-fitting and embarrassing. Today, we look at a few more collections bound for... being ignored.

Or are we being a bit too hasty?

John Varvatos
Indeed, we are jumping the gun a bit -- but who can blame us, since it's John Varvatos that delivers the goods... which is either a sign of how bland the entire menswear segment is these days, or is a sign that the brand is, somewhat, more hipper than usual.














Photos from New York Magazine.

Of course, the latest collection from John Varvatos should remind you of stuff you've already seen, from younger brands, from recent years. But, hey, it still looks good now, is fun, youthful, reasonably cool, and entirely wearable.

Cloak
On to Cloak, a brand that burst onto the scene with great-looking, eminently original looks perfect for the workplace (if that workplace happens to be KGB headquarters) or the nightclub (Club Gulag). Its Russian-military chic now a thing of the past, along with Fall's far more restrained looks, Cloak today served up another anachronistic collection: This time, the inspiration seemed to be New Wave... in a sort of hulking, scary, European way.

At any rate, the suits looked fantastic, very slim and hip. Here are some of our picks, and note the pervasive sheen -- an unfortunate trend in menswear these days.









Cloak: Go for the freakshow, you stay for the suits.

Duckie Brown
That also reminds me of Duckie Brown, another label we've typically associated with, ah, "distinctive". The strange was (mostly) absent from Duckie Brown's collection this time around (barring some playing around with sizing, as you'll note.)









Paging Dr. Fashion! The scrubs-looking drawstring pants are probably not for everyone. But the shirt and jacket are boss.

Some other goodies from DB:





So hot right now
Meanwhile, the Fug Girls at NYMag.com wrap up the menswear at the Darth Vader-inspired (you read that right) Narciso Rodriguez show:

But as far as the menswear went ... well, let's put it this way: Darth Vader — Luke Skywalker, for that matter — wouldn't be caught dead in a black tulle tank top. Nor, we suspect, would he be interested in wearing formal briefs (that is, man-shorts) or well-tailored suit jackets sans shirt. The Narciso man, on the other hand, is apparently uninterested in wearing what's required in any of New York's finer eating establishments — namely, SHIRTS and PANTS.

Egad.

Link: "Narciso Rodriguez: Inspired by Darth Vader, Men's Hot Pants" (NYMag.com)

Perry Ellis, Lacoste, and others also came out in support of a man's right to wear short short. I trust you can take my word on it. (But if not.)