The Situation at Pitti

Woolrich Woollen Mills, showing for the first time at Pitti in parent company WP Lavori in Corso’s brand new pavilion, featured shockingly vibrant African tribal printed camp shirts, scarves and neckties paired with khaki trousers and safari-style jackets. The designer Mark McNairy capped one look with an olive canvas and mesh bucket hat cleverly reminiscent of a Pith helmet, but was actually inspired by the signature headgear of J.J. from the TV series “Good Times.” The collection was absolutely “Dy-no-mite,” as J.J. would say.

At Pitti, Innovation and Inspiration

Engineered Garments, another show favorite, did an amazing group of polka-dotted clothing that played with size and scale. Cotton sport jackets, shirts, shorts, pants and ties — in differing sizes of dots, in bold navy and white or a more quiet, chic khaki and white — can be combined for bold, strong looks or worn separately as accent pieces. Make mine a combo, please.

* Men’s Mentore had some great coverage with lots of pictures. Oddly the only highlight for me are those floral print squares from Hill-Side.

* Fashionising has published a list of observations they made about some of the lines and on the show in general.

* Get ready for some small price hikes. WWD also had an article on this:

Eric Jennings, vice president and fashion director of men’s for Saks Fifth Avenue, said that after holding off for a couple of seasons due to the recession, men want to replace holes in their wardrobe, whether for suits or sportswear. Among the main challenges for the sector, however, are the price hikes instituted by vendors following steep increases on raw materials and piece goods, many of which have risen by up to 30 percent. “I think the vendors are very cognizant of [the situation] and will partner with us, and we won’t get sticker shock this season, but it’s a huge factor,” he said.

* Nigel Cabourn continues to do his thing. The Brady bags look great, but the Eddie Baeur collection feels off in that none of the pieces look like anything Eddie Baeur has ever made (not in a good way). On mention of which, when is Eddie Baeur going to get its act together and come out with a line based on its archival pieces?

* Très Bien Shop has posted pictures of their trip to their flickr account. Lots of previews of favorite brands are shown.

* In continuing the race to market his name into the ground, Barbour premiered its new Steve McQueen collection. Like the previously branded clothing line which nobody bought, some elements of it are pretty naff. Yes, he’s an icon, but screenprinting his image on the inside of your riding jacket is going a bit too far.

Pictured above, FW11 preview images from ts(s) and below, Engineered Garments.

“Engineered Garments, always a favorite, continued the performance-driven kick with techy tweeds inspired by cycling, with jacket flaps buttoning under pockets, attached hoods and trousers with windbreaking knit cuffs. Short pant silhouettes here were modeled on retro football uniforms as well as classic ghurka shorts. Long socks and leggings seem to be key in pulling off this eccentric yet appealing look, as the designer Daiki Suzuki stylishly showed, wearing his shorts with striped socks and classic lace-ups. He teamed up with the classic American outerwear maker Golden Bear for their first line of leather jackets.”

“Another Tokyo-based line TS(S) played with quilted nylon, brushed herringbone linens, heavy cotton twills and wool tweeds to create an inspiring riot of textures in dandified sporty silhouettes and, yes, winter-weight shorts. A hiking boot collaboration with the designer Takahiro Miyashita of the recently retired Number (N)ine collection hinted at a highly anticipated project of his in the works.“

Golden Bear leather jackets for Engineered Garments and Takahiro Miyashita working with Takuji Suzuki? Fall/Winter 2010 is going to be an amazing season for fans.

Continue reading more.

See more looks from the ts(s) Spring/Summer 2010 collection here: Part 1, Part 2

Also, good news: The Bureau is going to be carrying ts(s) and is expecting their first shipment before Christmas!

ts(s) SS2010, by Takuji Suzuki – from notsohardwork.com. More images to come later!

Images from Silver & Gold.

The guy wearing the blue brick sole wingtips in Tres Bien’s flickr stream was probably Takuji Suzuki as well.  No word yet on any North American stockists.

Here are some of the looks shown on the website:

Luckily for the internet, Museum Ark in Japan took pictures from the showroom and is offering some of their selection for preorder.  I’ll assume for now that all of this stuff will be too small for me, but it’s fun to look at anyways.  Read on to see more images.

ts(s) Country House Jacket

ts(s) Double Cuffs Pants

ts(s) Railman Cap

ts(s) Bird Watching Jacket

ts(s) Quilted Vest

ts(s) Quilted Sportcoat

ts(s) Cover All Coat

ts(s) Cropped Work Pants

ts(s) Brown Suede Wingtips with a Blue Brick Sole

ts(s) Black Suede Wingtips with a Blue Brick Sole

See more pictures on Museum Ark’s website: http://item.rakuten.co.jp/museumnets/c/0000000707/