From the new Sandro headquarters tucked behind a courtyard off the splendid Boulevard Haussmann, Ilan Chetrite was formulating an impression of how the Sandro man is not drawn from the past so much as he is an inheritor of pieces handed down to him. Think extra-long coats with pronounced shoulders, flannel shirts, and pants ending just above the ankles. If this updated ’90s accord—minus the grunge sharps and flats—seems like a familiar theme for the brand’s menswear, its artistic director pointed out that he was 18 years old in 2000. “It’s a melody I like,” he said, speaking strictly of the era’s clothes.
More broadly, Chetrite is attuned to the fact that guys—30-somethings, typically—are coming to Sandro Man because it neither overthinks nor overworks the clothes. Some will buy a single investment piece—the handsome three-quarter-length coat in wool cashmere, for example; others may stock up on such modified basics as the white T-shirts with extra-wide neckbands; others still might appreciate the functional design of the German military-inspired trainers. This Sandro Man collection, in particular, registered as neat and tidy, with extraneous elements coming in the form of a smart attaché case or all-purpose black backpack. Asked in what way the clothes speak to today, Chetrite spun his reply to note how even the generous volumes aren’t likely to look démodé anytime soon. Alternately, he acknowledged that an “explorer” down jacket in safety yellow was designed to stand out. Sometimes, he said, “Guys want to be flags in their own city.” The grainy leather black jacket stood out, too.
