This is Takahiro Miyashita’s final menswear collection for Number (N)ine. This is Number (N)ine at it’s utmost splendor. It is really a legendary ending.
Yesterday I was able to brave the dreary Manhattan weather–fitting in retrospect–to visit the very last sample sale for the brand. Along both walls of the narrow boutique-turned-repository were cramped clothing racks clogged with bits and pieces from Miyashita’s past collections. It was mini purchasable retrospective. Although I only came away with a handful of pieces, it was gratifying just to be able to handle the coats, cloaks, and jackets that I’ve only gawked at through a computer screen during my time in Hawaii. I can’t explain it but there’s really something special about the reimagined Americana that the Japanese–Daiki, Junya, Rei, etc.–come up with; it’s all very magical. Takahiro’s contributions to that with Number (N)ine will be missed though the output of his new line, I’m sure, will garner just as much praise.
Patrik Ervell Spring/Summer 2008 Collection
What I like about Patrick Ervell, as a brand, is the pace in which change takes place within it. The fashion industry status quo of showing collections only two times a year allows for a designer to easily drop the ideas of one collection and subsequently create an entirely new one with no relation whatsoever to the first. While I can understand the need to differentiate between collections, I find it much more charming when this is done through reworking instead of abandoning past ideas.
If you take a look at Patrick Ervell’s collections, you’ll find all the same elements in each: the club-collared shirt, the cropped jacket, the long coat, the basic suit, and one or two unique fabric selections. There are only a small number of looks and the presentation is always stark. These elements are altered ever so slightly and with great effect. The result is a body work with a very clear aesthetic, direction, and a consistency that sets it apart in a crowd of fashion schizophrenics.
Photos: CelebrityCIty (pre-collage)
More: Style