NYFWM FW2015 Day 3: Ricardo Seco Has Time on the Brain

From the Ricardo Seco FW2016 collection. Photos by V.W.

BY V.W.

The players of Day 3: Michael Kors, Perry Ellis, Cade, Tommy Hilfiger, Nick Graham, Gypsy Sport, Jeffrey Rudes, Calvin Klein, Greg Lauren, Tim Coppens, Ricardo Seco, Billy Reid

LEMON yellow. Orange orange. Electric blue. Chartreuse green.

One is assailed by a riot of color on first contact with the Ricardo Seco FW2016 collection. It is especially stark against a backdrop of and counterpoint of black.

In his latest collection, the Mexican designer is contemplating Time. Heretofore, he has presented meditations on such existential notions as Power, Dreams, Share and Luck.

One relatable element of Time is the serape, strongly referencing a timeliness in Mexican culture. In two instances, the serape is presented on the grand scale of a greatcoat.

Both are fur-trimmed and hooded. They exude power and elegance, the wrinkles worrying them notwithstanding.

A connection to Time can be inferred in the pants – tapered, slightly baggy; in leather or pleather, cotton or wool; worn by male and female alike. That is, pants being a staple and staples being transcendent.

The connection to Time elsewhere is tenuous in a collection that can be described as bohemian-street. The leather jackets with unruly fur-lined collars are irreverently chic; the sweatshirts are cheeky.

For evening, a fur-lined collar serape vest overlaid with sparkles. Those same sparkles brighten a few turtlenecks. What to make of the white athletic shoes, one knows not.

Aside from the serape coats, the piece in this collection with the most traction – which is occasionally too literal and costumey – is a multi-paneled turtleneck: black, chartreuse and b&w serape print. On a cold, cloudy, dreary day, it will be a bright sight for sore eyes.

TIM COPPENS

From the Tim Coppens FW2016 collection. Photos by V.W.

A trend has formed. A clutch of designers, like award-winning Tim Coppens, that hoes the rows of the high-end athletic street aesthetic. They produce utterly wearable and commercial clothes. Layers inform much of their work.

Often the whole is greater than the parts, as it is for the Belgian designer’s FW2016 collection.

Cases in point, the ensemble featuring the red T-Sweater with two white stripes for women. For men, the one with the black turtleneck with peekaboo yellow stripe.

FEIT: Man vs Machine

THE shoe brand, FEIT, encourages us all to buy environmentally-friendly handmade shoes, rather than the environmentally polluting mass-produced, machine-made variety.

From the FEIT FW2016 collection. Photos by V.W.

Hence, the audio-visual installation at The New Museum, “FEIT: Man vs Machine.”

It juxtaposes the manmade process with images from the film, Life Out of Balance ( “Koyaanisqatsi”), with the handmade process, represented by Rock. (See video).

The cobbler owns the Chinese factory where NYC-based FEIT shoes are handmade. Mr. Rock asserts that you, you, you and you should own at least three pair of shoes and a maximum of 20.

On deck today, LAST Day3: Orley, Kenneth Ning, John Elliott, Eidos, Thomas Pink, Craft Atlantic, Rochambeau,Devon Halfnight Leflufy, Theory, DexterDexterDexter, Todd Snydervugh

Visit http://www.cfda.com/programs/new-york-mens-week to learn more about New York Fashion Week: Men’s, including shows and show times.