A Viennese Notion for the Brooklyn Boy

The Robert Geller show felt like the perfect convergence on avenues of Vienna, with an old world polish and the dirty warehouse blocks of Brooklyn. Geller, one of the resident hard edged romantics of the New York menswear designers revealed a look that offered a thought of clarity, not clutter.
The cast of boys moved down the runway with a quick kick in their step, but it seemed more appropriate for them to slow down to a swagger, as there was exactly that casual essence in these clothes. You could pick up any number of the pieces, whether it be a shrunken tailored jacket, an ombre fade to heather tee or a slate lounge pant and literally throw on them on and achieve a nonchalant elegance.

Geller has a particular way with the hues and this palate is a prime example of that. A lush cream woolly shawl enclosed a leather jacket so softly washed it looked like it had tender veins running through the surface. The look was supple and slightly feminine with the cloudy pelt enveloping the shoulders, but when topped with a sleet gray travelers hat, it was fit for a proper, perfectly off kilter chap. Inky navy contrasting horizontal stripes on the interior of trousers legs were refreshed with the addition of vertical stripes. It was a brilliant and truly effective match. Black and white film stripes were attentively placed on the pairing of a vest and dinner jacket, dispersing to the back of the garment, creating an interest in the visual layers.

I came away with the thought you could mix every which piece with the other and maybe that is the mark of a good men’s show. It was utterly complete in itself.

By Anush Mirbegian