New for the ‘90s : Color Is the Keynote in Linen Suits and Sportswear Separates for Spring
Donald Trump, Malcolm Forbes, TV anchormen Bryant Gumbel and Ahmad Rashad as well as some 700 buyers and press attended a show of American menswear designers at the Plaza Hotel. Called “American Designers at Their Best,” it was co-sponsored by Esquire magazine and included spring styles by most of the leading names in New York menswear--Joseph Abboud, Jeffrey Banks, Jhane Barnes, Perry Ellis, Andrew Fezza, Alexander Julian, Cecilia Metheny, Bill Robinson and Ronaldus Shamask.
Though the event drew some criticism before the show because it was sponsored by a magazine (designer Henry Grethel also gave a show recently that was co-sponsored by Metropolitan Home magazine), the consensus seemed to be that a show backed by a publication was better than no show at all. Unlike the Italians and the French, the American menswear industry still holds no organized runway shows during the traditional market week for a given season.
Some of the fashionable looks men can expect to see in the first year of the 1990s are linen suits and sportswear separates in cool, pale tones such as celadon, ivory, fawn, azure, rose and maize. Almost every collection also includes a linen or rayon suit in a vibrant shade such as cobalt, mulberry, petrol, bronze or persimmon (at Metheny, a wool/linen suit comes in plum; at Robinson, a suit shines in iridescent cardinal linen/rayon).
For the man who doesn’t appreciate colors that sound like flavors, there are also lots of sandy tones used in suitings and sportswear.
Silhouettes continue to relax and loosen up, with less construction in everything from Prince of Wales plaid double-breasted suits to the newest item for spring/summer--the oversized, light-as-a-feather linen shirt/jacket, often shown with roomy Bermuda shorts that graze the knee.
Suede makes a soft but strong showing for the season in easy shapes, including Abboud’s olive suede unconstructed safari jacket. His natty nutmeg vest with lapels is the perfect example of an item that represents the dressy/casual ethic prevalent in menswear. It is shown both with a sport jacket, tie and trousers and with T-shirt and shorts. Roger Forsythe for Perry Ellis features a sporty red and green striped suede baseball jacket and couples suede shorts with his bold jungle motif sweaters. Robinson even mixes suede shirts under double-breasted or three-button suits--the latter silhouette has its origins in the sack suit or the Ivy League model.
Shamask makes one of the few stabs at real innovation seen at this show with his new versions of three-piece suits. A Prince of Wales plaid linen, three-button suit is worn with a matching sleeveless jacket subbing as a vest. A zip-front drill vest with collar adds a quasi-military feeling to another plaid suit. Hooded sweaters and a black leather vest also serve as the third piece in several suit ensembles, obviously aimed at men who can dress a little more creatively in their business environments.
Other newsworthy looks for the ‘90s: Banks’ leather jacket and cotton shirt and shorts appliqued or printed with “trunk sticker” motifs; Barnes’ luxe silk bomber jackets in shades of pimento or spice; Forsythe’s sky blue and pearl gray polka-dot silk polo and contrast-colored cardigan; Fezza’s “O’Keefe” abstract floral cotton sweaters; Julian’s natural shade linen toggle coat.
