New York Fashion Week: Billy Reid marches out the soft parade
The Billy Reid spring and summer 2015 menswear collection that came down the catwalk in the Refectory of the High Line Hotel here Saturday was a softer take on tailored clothing than we’ve seen from the designer lately, but that didn’t mean he sacrificed his trademark textures and deep-bench of bespoke textiles.
The inspiration: “I definitely wanted to soften things,” the designer said backstage before the show. “I think the word ‘deconstruct’ is overused sometimes, but I wanted to soften the construction, soften the insides -- especially on the tailored clothing.”
Reid said he was responding to what he saw on the street. “I love how kids are mixing things up these days. Even in our shops, I see some young guys would buy something like a women’s shirt dress that’s a little longer and wear it under a tailored jacket and it looks amazing. And it was really inspiring to me to see that -- I love seeing those lines blurred a little bit.”
Also in the mix were a range of textile patterns inspired by tiles (“some Moroccan tiles and some West-Texas-inspired ones are in there too,” he said).
The look: Cotton/linen overshirts hung past the hips, layered under slouchy cardigans, floral jacquard bomber jackets or unlined linen blazers; trousers were relaxed practically to the point of pajama bottoms and served as a perfect playground for Reid’s further exploration of pattern and texture.
And Reid went long on shorts -- roomy walking shorts, that is -- a range of relaxed-fitting shortpants that fell at or just below the knee. There were versions in a blue macrame jacquard, a blue-on-white floral pattern, and striped cotton/linen panels. Although they keyed into the lounge short/sweat-short trend we’ve seen gaining traction on the men’s runways this week, they managed to do so in a way that felt like setting the bar, not following the herd.
Key pieces: There was something so utterly laid-back luxe about the range of billowy overshirts -- plain white, blue ivy prints, bandana tile prints or striped cotton voile -- that it made us hope they catch on as something akin to the thinking man’s aloha shirt.
The verdict: We like the softer side of Reid and enjoy watching the designer dig ever deeper into the textile toolbox. He told us he’s getting ready to launch a full-blown denim line called MSL (the airport code for Muscle Shoals, Ala.) perhaps as soon as the holiday season, and we can’t wait to see what his enthusiastic approach to fabric does on that front.
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