New York Fashion Week: Gant Rugger takes a staycation
Gant Rugger presented its spring 2015 men’s and women’s collections at the Maritime Hotel cabanas here Friday during New York Fashion Week.
The inspiration: “I had this group of friends in mind who, instead of spending money on plane tickets or train tickets or gas to go on vacation decide to stay in the city — so it’s a staycation,” head designer Filippa “Fifi” Hallstensson told us. “We’re calling the collection ‘Staycation Land’ … Summer is the worst time to plan outfits because you want to keep things simple. You want to wear things like swim trunks and T-shirts but you also want to look sharp. So we wanted to create a mix between messy and dressy.”
The look: That messy-meets-dressy vibe was achieved with lots of linen/cotton blends (particularly in T-shirts and blazers), waffled textures and smart-looking short suits for men and women.
There were springy florals for her — most notably in a bomber jacket silhouette and a floral kimono layered over a mesh tank top and paired with demim shorts -- and a handful of diamond-patterned pieces including a chambray shirt and a pair of trunks (though one had to feel sorry for the model in the diamond-quilted vest standing in direct sunlight on a beastly hot Manhattan mid-afternoon). Shirts riffing on pajama tops and baseball jerseys added to the relaxed vibe of the collection.
Key pieces: Our favorite women’s piece was a light blue skirt that resembled a man’s dress shirt wrapped casually around the waist and tied just off to one side. On the men’s side an unconstructed blue blazer with a waffle texture with matching shorts struck the perfect balance of laid-back and dressed up.
The verdict: A collection that fits perfectly with the SoCal casual lifestyle. Thanks to the new Gant Rugger neighborhood shop on La Brea Avenue, staycationing Angelenos can stock up without going too far afield.
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