Looking good gets serious

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-02-20 16:24

Just as flush times gave traditionally staid menswear permission to loosen up, a grim economy is dictating a back-to-basics gravitas and a return to serious business attire.

Menswear, never in the vanguard of US fashion, is looking to tried-and-true staples of a good suit, shirt and shoes that signal stability, focus and solvency, say fashion experts taking stock of the collections showing at New York's Fashion Week.

"These are times that tend to homogenize fashion," says Alan Flusser, author of Dressing the Man: Mastering the Art of Permanent Fashion. In menswear, he says, that means clothes that "project a sense of importance, security and continuity".

An outfit from Diesel's Solid Gold collection.

"People want to look like they're working. You're going to see more men looking for interview-esque clothes than ever before," he says.

The collections at New York's Fashion Week bear that out. Hundreds of designers are showing both men's and women's lines at the semi-annual event that ends today.

Calvin Klein's largely monochromatic collection reflected lean times, with slim silhouettes stripped of detail. Suits, shirts and ties all rendered from the same fabric comprised single outfits.

While the mood was somewhat lightened by some futuristic molded foam sculpted pants and jackets, a bevy of proper cashmere topcoats relied on conservative fabrics like tweed, herringbone, houndstooth and a workmanlike twill.

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