Since launching in 2010, Au Jour Le Jour designers Diego Marquez and Mirko Fontana have staked out their turf in the quirky-cute men’s fashion space without slipping into cutesy—and that is a feat in itself.
For Fall, the duo has expanded their signature bestiary to include favorites from the Chinese calendar, such as the Monkey (2016 being that animal’s year), the Snake, and, most winningly, the Tiger, while also exploring a first foray into an “urban folk” theme. “We wanted to pick up on some of our signatures [from womenswear] but keep it effortless,” explained Marquez.
Effortless, perhaps. Whimsical, definitely. Options included a plaid shirt with a large printed tiger, or a denim bomber decorated with several animal patches at once. The urban folk vibe popped up in a cropped tapestry jacket the duo called “Gobelins.” For the truly iconoclastic, there were army coats festooned with tassels or day coats with faux shearling collars and pom-pom trim, and even faux-fur Birkenstocks (ideal homewear for the so inclined). Interspersed among these, the more conservative coats and long sweatshirts in maxi-tartan quietly conveyed crossover appeal.
With this collection Marquez and Fontana have demonstrated their eye for color, fabric, and cut. They also have a very focused idea of what they want their clothes to say. But if they left the knee patches to the under-10 set and treaded more lightly with the bells and whistles, that voice would be stronger.
