With an unsatisfied appetite for menswear as RAFW lacked I happily attended today’s BAM Brands media showings. Featuring Sydney/UK men’s label Handsom, Brisbane’s Vanguard and Californian footwear label Study the showings fed my hunger for good tailoring and wearable men’s garments.
I’ll start off with my favourite of the labels that were shown to me today. Handsom’s Twitter ‘About Me’ reads: “Born in England. Designed in Australia. We make nice clothes”. Indeed they do and it explains the beautiful English tailoring and the fresh Australian palette a gentleman encounters when he picks up certain items from the Handsom rack. Although the palette of the clothes plays a little safe with its’ navy-blues, greys, beiges and mustard the Handsom SS12 collection also has offerings of canary yellow and salmon pink. The prints on their shirting are just right for the hottest season. Textures for the menswear come in suede, cotton, corduroy and wool – making the Australian summer wearable. Pun definitely not intended.
What is summer without surf/streetwear? Pretty naked if you ask me and although nudity goes down well in summer not everyone has washboard abs! Brisbane label Vanguard’s SS12 collection mixes ethnic prints (Aztec) with on-trend neon brights rendered in breathable cottons and linen shirting. Its’ board short collection featured playful digital prints but perhaps what caught my eye the most was Vanguard’s offering of the summer “it” bag. The denim rucksack – which I just love!!!
Made for students and suited to the student budget ($69-99!), Study footwear hails from the other side of the world – California USA. Style with a purpose the footwear is mostly unisex but does sometimes come in one-gendered sizing. Rendered in materials such as suede, leather and canvas the collection is definitely an ode to glarey days filled with roadtrips, hanging out and being cool. My favourite of the bunch were those that came in turquoise with watermelon red laces and ‘ethnic’ print. Head to the website to see more styles!
Having seen some fresh collections it is no wonder I’m coming up with shoots and looks that I want to incorporate the following labels into – already!
A big thank you to Tempe and Justin of BAM Brands for their hospitality and warm smiles!
Genesis M.
Dandy Sachs 