The menswear buying season is in full swing – and with new collections from both home-grown and overseas brands soon available to view at London’s Old Truman Brewery, anticipation of the eleventh edition of Jacket Required is building.
As the strongest collections in the current market ready themselves to join together in just a few weeks’ time, we look beyond the perceptible horizon to spring/summer 2017, at these selected labels.
Kirk Originals
Conceived in its London studio and workshops, and crafted by hand in factories in the French Jura Mountains, each frame is designed and prototyped by hand to ensure the silhouette and fit is perfected before moving into production. Each frame is cut, assembled and polished by craftsmen to retain the distinctive characteristics of a handmade product.
For the new season, Kirk Originals frames have been designed to reflect the brand’s classic British heritage and offer strong, simple architectural outlines referencing the iconic eyewear of the 60s and 70s. Crafted from the finest Italian acetates, all frames are fitted with CR39 Italian lenses with anti-reflective coatings and premium barrel-pinned hinges. Offering modern, wearable styles embracing a minimalist architectural design and graphic sensibility, Kirk Originals reflect the philosophy that eyewear should be the individual expression of your inner personality.
Keen
Portland-based Keen was founded in 2003 by Martin Keen and Rory Fuerst, in Alameda, California. While rooted in the American outdoor lifestyle and developing something of a cult status from the brand’s original NewPort Closed Toe Sandal, the duo sought to defy convention through creative design and soon became a leader in the field.
With a philosophy of hybrid innovation, Keen is committed to creating a unique product, designed with technical aspects which help to challenge the most demanding outdoor activities – from waterproofing to protective features including toe bumpers. As the brand seeks to make its move into lifestyle footwear, it releases the innovative two-cord constructed UNEEK 02 for the upcoming season. An open-air shoe, this sneaker is designed to provide a free-moving feel – interlocking cords adjust while its lightly cushioned heel provides support, featuring a metatomical footbed design to give a custom fit for every foot.
Cheap Monday
Swedish brand Cheap Monday’s spring/summer 2017 collection, titled Been There, Was That finds inspiration in the energy of music subcultures from the 80s. Blurring the lines between key movements of that era, New Romantics & Goths, Metal-heads, B-boys – a fusion of the styles from each movement plays across genders to deliver a fresh new take.
Key stylistic elements from each genre live strong in the line, with key items including the trench, bold graphic Tees and pastel track tops. The colour foundation is black, grey and white, accented by a palette that ranges from pastels to bold primaries. Known for creating accessible denim styles with an edge, the mood and theme are taken further, playing with the looks and styling with raw edges, feature bottom hems and pale, worn-out stonewashes which combine with new takes on the infamous Cheap Monday skinnies. Rigid denim is used across a selection of fits and jackets working to highlight the references to specific subcultures. Sunnies are also must-have items in the range, with key styles including Gazer, Cytric and Kurt, adding further appeal to the brand’s popular denim and apparel.
Bata Heritage
In 1894, in the village of Zlin, in what is now the Czech Republic, Tomas Bata founded his eponymous label. Fulfilling his vision to “shoe mankind”, Bata developed many shoe-making techniques and pioneered responsible capitalism. Building company towns all around the world, these “Batavilles” featured facilities including employee housing and schools. Today, while serving one million customers a day across 5000 stores in 70 countries, Bata remains a family business, proud to be considered a local brand everywhere it operates.
Upon celebrating its 120th anniversary in 2014, Bata launched its Heritage collection to honour its rich history and enduring values, re-releasing some of the most iconic footwear from its archives. The Bata Bullet, long-considered classic of the sneaker scene and original shoe of the NBA team Baltimore Bullets; the Bata Safari, still proudly made in its in Limuru factory, contributing to Bata’s trusted reputation for quality, comfort and value, and greatly appreciated for durability and comfort in tough conditions; and the Bata Tennis, including limited-edition collaborations with Peanuts and Comme des Garçons.
Ebbets Field Flannels
The spring/summer 2017 collection from Ebbets Field Flannels continues to pay tribute to America’s favourite pastime, inspired by founder Jerry Cohen’s love of mid-century American athletics. Cohen grew up fascinated with sports emblems and uniforms – as a youngster, he would purchase baseball cards to see the uniform changes and colours rather than for the players. Fast-forward to 1987, having been unsuccessful in his search for a vintage flannel baseball jersey, he eventually tracked down some old wool baseball flannel and had a few shirts made for himself.
Today, Cohen still runs the company as his obsessive search for authenticity sets the brand as the definitive leader of its field. Recreating 1940s uniforms using identical wools and techniques for a vintage authenticity – each garment is handmade from the world's largest inventory of historical fabrics – as all jerseys, ballcaps, jackets and sweaters are cut, sewn, or knitted from original fabrics and yarns creating standout, limited-run pieces. With a collection that prides itself upon its vintage aesthetic, in turn its modern day interpretation of baseball jerseys and vintage flannels and caps offer an undeniable nostalgia.