"It's everything I want in my closet," Narciso Rodriguez said, reflecting on the 11 men's outfits he had just shown with his women's collection. "A black cashmere coat, a nice tie… and you can't have too many white shirts." But because this was what Narciso wanted, that cashmere coat was paired with the baggy, below-the-knee shorts that are one of his own style signatures. Maybe there won't be too many men following him there, but the rigorous cool of the other clothes on offer should find its share of takers.
Using a palette reduced to black, white, and gray (or silver, as he called it), Rodriguez presented clothes that were as meticulously constructed as his womenswear. Seams were emphasized on a black leather blazer, cut with his signature body-consciousness. The same spirit dictated the nipped-in waist of a gray suit and a wool twill coat. The show music—by new L.A. band She Wants Revenge—had the harsh, angular drive of early-eighties Anglo groups. It complemented the New Wave aerodynamics of a sleeveless cashmere top, with sleeveless white shirt and tie underneath. Sleeves are clearly superfluous in the streamlined world of Narciso's men.
