Old glamour: that was the theme Joseph Abboud Creative Director Bernardo Rojo used to kick off Fashion Week in New York this evening.
"It's about looking back to the old glamour of American style and modernizing it," Rojo said in his notes before the show.
If he didn't hit that note completely, he did something equally impressive by showing sleek, easy clothes. As Rojo works to reinvent Abboud, he's done a good job giving men strong, sharply constructed suiting that's easy to wear.
Sport coats came in ivory linen, a grey and off-white gingham, and navies and reds. Unlike his fall effort hitting shelves now, suits were mostly deconstructed and wrinkled.
They made sense for the man heading to Southampton over Memorial Day weekend, if not on a summer Friday in the office.
The two real standouts in the collection came in Abboud's outerwear and lightweight sweaters. A canary yellow fine gauge wool v-neck paired with cotton shorts and two neoprene motorcycle jackets were cool.
It all fit well, which worked with the two films Rojo checked before the show: "Rebel Without a Cause" and "Drive."
"Taking inspiration from yesterday's icons but bringing something completely new," he said. "I believe that design is a mode of expressing one's individuality, not suppressing it ... and this collection leaves room for tomorrow's icons to be made."
To be truthful, I was distracted by GQ Fashion Director Madeline Weeks, who sat with fellow GQ editor Ted Stafford, front row.
They contrasted the men lined up across from them, who included Ryan Lochte and Kellen Lutz. There was something to the ease of Ms. Weeks in aviators and a khaki trench and Mr. Stafford in slim jeans and a blazer that the blinding celebrity lacked.
The two looked fresh, something Mr. Rojo no doubt wants to replicate on his runway.
My only hope is that he's able to keep this new Abboud going — after all, it was only his second season leading the brand. It's refined and easy, something he's established he doesn't need that front row for.
Front Row: Ryan Lochte, Kellan Lutz, Hunter Parrish, Daniel Gillies, Alexander Ludwig, Frank Grillo, Brad Richards