Joseph Abboud Fall 2016

For fall 2016 Joseph Abboud showed a tight focused collection for his menswear clients and did not disappoint the crowd! This season his utilization of military details, washed cashmeres and velvets, distressed wool printed and a "traced fit" which seems like a new silhouette. All this combined made this collection a screaming sell, of note his grey American flag wrap/scarf served and a great finish to a few of his looks.

Designers like this have the ability to delve into the past and at the same time move forward with fresh ideas, both were achieved in this collection. The current Abboud client should be satisfied as well new ones to follow. It was also nice to see mens bags on the runway, something you don't see a lot of to begin with.

Photos: Dan Lecca

For fall 2016 Lucio Castro's inspiration were photographs of traveling communities in the UK, the total number he showed was around thirteen with very different looks and little cohesion. It seems it's a thrown together collection it the hopes that some pieces might resonate with consumers but after viewing the range and diversity the question must be asked, who's your guy? Actions speak louder than words and with fashion designers and this is how they communicate to the public. With only a very small collection and what was shown these questions still must be answered. It seems a few of the prints Mr. Castro used; seemed 70's inspired, as for this translating to a millennial customer or otherwise?

Photo's: Agentry PR

Lola and Sophie Spring 2016

Designer Gene Kagan has delivery once again a winning collection for spring 2016. The majority of his collection consisting mainly of tops range between grey tones, reds, blues and prints.

What draws me to this line are a few factors, the pieces are easy to travel with; basically you just toss em into the bag and your off!  His price points are easily digestible with tops in a range of $120-130 and jackets at around $175.  Lastly these looks can be worn just about anywhere. The feeling is a relaxed stylish woman who has a sense of style but she's not a slave to it. More information can be found at www.lolaandsophie.com

Tanya Taylor S/S2016

For spring Tanya Taylor showed her collection in Soho which seemed a fitting place and much easier to get to then other locations around the city. The collection is like walking into a very colorful floral garden dotted with multi colored striped pieces. From the ceiling she let hang multi-colored ropes which added to the effect. It's a small offering but packs a big punch! To note we loved her moto jacket with color striped and her floral dresses.

photos: R.Spiegel

Mathieu Mirano S/S 2016

Once again Mr. Mirano delivers a winning collection consisting of sharp evening wear and a fews sophisticated day looks. He seems to be one of the only designers who has a firm grasp of working with color which is obvious with his small offering this season.

What is more interesting here is the size of the collection, under twenty looks! It seem Mathieu feels no need to floods the marketplace with a large scale collection. Either he knows what his woman wants (and he does) or he's reading the tea leaves from the international business sections and can sense that world economies are slowing which translates into fewer sales.

Keep your eye on the red carpet, I have a feeling a few of his gowns will grace them.

Jeffrey Dodd S/S2016

Relative new comer Jeffrey Dodd showed his second spring collection in his showroom downtown with the main subject of his visitors being women. I being the only man in the room besides Jeffrey seemed to go under the radar, that's ok I like to observe.

According to his site and his "about" section he started his career doing visual merchandising for Ralph Lauren in Chicago, moved to New York to attend Pratt Institute's fashion program and then over to Rachel Zoe to help develop her line. In 2014 Jeffrey Dodd is launched.

It seems the bulk of the collection is a split between black and a few other various colors. His assistants in the showroom seemed to be pulling many black pieces to drape his model. I found a beautiful long pony coat and requested it be utilized in my opinion is was a editorial piece.

But like I said, I like to observe and what I saw was Jeffrey Dodd the designer grabbing looks off his own rack and bringing them back to his model, not saying a word, almost if you did not know he was the designer, just another worker!

For the record Jeffrey Dodd shows major talent and the best pieces are not the black numbers they kept showing, but there are other young designers who can do it just as good and engage their audience.

Bill Blass years ago was, if not; the first designer who came from"the back room to the front room" and it made him the designer women adored. Jeffrey's in the right place and his customer does exist but to be selling pieces in range from $700 to $6,000 seems a test which should soon enough yield results. The strongest pieces I loved are his simple basics, pants, tops etc.. These are pieces women rely on for dressing everyday. Keep this one on the radar screen.

Photos: R.Spiegel & Jeffrey Dodd

This is Mimi Plange S/S2016

Bill Cunningham once made reference to horse racing and fashion; driving home the point of editors/photographers who "follow" designers. I have been following designer Mimi Plange for over ten years and by far this is her shining moment in fashion. A unique talent with a vast range of technique which she blended into one collection. Her love of florals, piping, hard, soft lines and her treatment of colors all were shown. She has utilized these looks in the past but it seems for this season the bringing together of Mimi's various design strengths worked flawlessly. Some of her best pieces was her pink overcoat and her ombre style soft sherbet skirt.

Halston Heritage Closes on Madison Ave

It seems this was bound to happen for the house of Halston which moved into this space in 2013 which was a two-level space and potentially their flagship location in the United States, being located on Madison Avenue one would think this was the case. After visiting this location on a few occasions some things stayed the same. One; they still have a team of designers who are designing the collection and still have no premiere designer. Second it seemed that there always was a "sale" section within the store and third from what I could see there was little to no advertising for the brand.

Madison Avenue has always been a proving ground for fashion houses, and to their credit they did hold out for two years, but with a rent which clearly out paced store sales this was a disaster from the day the doors opened! Within the two years of being open there were no "fashion week" events to promote the line? The staff like most were "programmed" to claim strong sales but when fashion professionals needle them with questions they can't answer, sometimes you get the answers your looking for. The real question is, does the house hold on in other markets and who will take over the space? Located on the low 80's on Madison the location is out of the "sweet spot". For some reason after 79th Street it's hard to make a fashion house sucuessful.

Photo: R.Spiegel

Nautica S/S 2016

Remember the old phrase "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"? Well it seems that's what Nautica's recipe is for the Spring 2016 season. The presentation was just a small sample of what they have to offer to men next year. The majority of the pieces are very "regular guy" friendly meaning that their customer base is not fashion obsessed but still want's to look nice. The take away from Nautica as a menswear company is that, the price points are very easy on the pocket and stay in line with there beach boat theme. As for their "black sail" offshoot it seems that's on hold for the moment, maybe the tech fabrics they utilized for that line might not have agreed with customers?

Nevertheless Nautica showed what we all expected from this long standing company, solid basic summer beachwear which most; if not all men can enjoy.

Photos:R.Spiegel

David Hart S/S 2016

It's not everyday you see a designer offer so much variety in a collection and it all makes sense. There's a Palm Beach look, a Vegas, a Jazz club, a euro, Hamptons, Art Deco, and it all simply works!

For a first out on the new, New York Mens Fashion Week David Hart is making quite a colorful statement. He's casting a wide enough net to attract buyers which is vital to any designer and with luck on his side as well as fine tailored clothing, he's one to follow.

Photos: R.Spiegel