Fashion : Hot Trends for Cool Days of Fall
If you want to add some vigor to your fall wardrobe, get a vest.
If you want to wear the latest sartorial silhouette, try a three-button Ivy League sack suit.
If you’re shopping for the newest look in knits, sweaters in bold patterns are a smart pick.
And expect to see lots of color mixed in with the earth tones you normally wear in the colder months.
These were just some of the hot trends for fall/winter shown to some 175 fashion editors at 45 runway presentations and events at the Men’s Fashion Assn. press preview held here recently.
“Luxurious fabrics in vivid colors is the big news for fall,” says Chip Tolbert, MFA’s fashion director. “I’ve never seen more truly beautiful and luxurious fabrics for men--cashmeres, alpacas, velvets, fine corduroys and even rayon. They drape so well. Men can look elegant and feel comfortable at the same time.”
Among the new easy and elegant looks are Bill Robinson’s textured ensembles--mixes of corduroy, velvet, knit and silk in rich shades of claret, moss, plum, slate or spruce. His plum corduroy suit is worn with a rust velvet vest, mango corduroy shirt and silk striped Jacquard tie.
And he suggests two new ways to accessorize suits and sport jackets. One is to mix a deep-tone shirt with a classic suit. Robinson sometimes shows the shirt buttoned to the throat without a tie. He also puts turtleneck sweaters under suits and jackets in the easy but elegant mode.
Ronaldus Shamask opts for a more spare interpretation of elegance with solid separates in layers. An olive, double-breasted coat is worn over a buck suede blazer, white polo shirt, black cardigan sweater and gray wool pants. Shamask also shows the quintessential example of the new mood of casual elegance in menswear: a black-velvet, shawl-collar jacket worn with a dressy white shirt with attached floppy white bow at the neck, white vest and jeans--a dressed-down dandy look for the ‘90s.
Though simple knit turtlenecks are often shown under suits and sport jackets, pullover sweaters in bold patterns were the standout knits in most collections.
Roger Forsythe, the new designer of the Perry Ellis menswear collections, adds an unexpected twist to the fall offerings with a group of tropical-pattern knits called “Typhoon Perry,” including brightly colored parrot and palm-frond patterns.
Henry Grethel does an eye-catching oversize paisley pullover. Tony Lambert’s knits come in bold “lollipop” shades of fuchsia, violet, lime and turquoise. And Bill Ditfort uses geometric motifs for his sweaters and sweater sets, as well as continuing with his best-selling Snoopy-motif cartoon sweaters. Marienbad’s sweaters look like neo- folkloric collector’s items with suede cutouts and serpentine appliques used in the company’s collage knits.
The vest, in fabric or knit, is easily the newest wardrobe accessory in both the sportswear and tailored clothing categories, with the sweater vest making a comeback in knitwear. Cecilia Metheny’s oversize cardigan version, worn with dress shirt and trousers, makes a modern statement.
Two of the brightest new stars at the press preview were Southern California resources: designer Karl Logan and a company called a.b.s. Men.
Logan reinterprets “The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit” for the ‘90s with flannel ensembles in easy, full-cut silhouettes, such as a greatcoat worn over a Mao jacket and pull-on pants, or a gray flannel single-button jacket with matching shirt buttoned to the neck, worn with pleated pants. Logan also works his modern ensemble look in Donegal tweed.
Designers Allen Bruce Schwartz and Kareen Johnson of the 1-year-old a.b.s. Men line describe their collection for fall/winter as “day into evening wear,” an apt euphemism for the new dressy/casual mood prevalent in menswear. They dress up the new three-button jacket of the season by putting a tapestry vest underneath. A blanket plaid jacket is worn with a matching vest.
And a double-breasted, houndstooth check suit has dressy details, such as a piped shawl collar to contrast with the casual, hidden-placket shirt worn buttoned to the neck.
Other trendy odds and ends at the MFA press preview: the introduction of jewelry designer Robert Lee Morris’ first collection of pendants, pins and belts for men, with “strong references to Celtic culture and myths,” including crosses, keys and padlocks; the appearance of the youngest and oldest Olympic medal winners to help promote JC Penney’s new U.S.A. Olympic apparel line (JC Penney will dress the athletes for the opening ceremonies at Barcelona in 1992), and models dressed as Batman or in Batman-related sportswear and accessories in both the JC Penney show and the National Outerwear & Sportswear Assn. show--a way to add some “ZAP!,” “BANG!” and “POW!” to the season.
