It’s pretty rare that a pair of jeans can inspire a sharp pang of I’ve-gotta-have-it. Denim is so ubiquitous it packs little punch. And yet, there’s something in the slouch of 6397’s new jean silhouette that stops you. In a rusty wash, the jeans are mid-rise, tight in all the right places, and loose in all the others. They look like a pair you might have scraped up off an ex-boyfriend’s floor or scored in a no-name thrift shop. The 6397 team has dubbed them, simply, “the Relaxed Fit,” and damn, are they good.
Those jeans are just one gem in 6397’s Pre-Fall collection, but they’re emblematic of founder Stella Ishii and her design team’s clever ability to stand apart from trendiness and turn mundane garments into stars. This season, they’ve expanded their repertoire beyond the tees and knits the label is known for—although you won’t want to miss a Democrazy slogan tee—and introduced more prints, more luxe fabrications, and outerwear. Now there are tiny, ditzy florals cut into boxy blouses and dark checks made into cheongsams. There’s a monastic yet sexy denim maxi skirt—slashed and ripped up the back—alongside a groovy French terry T-shirt and basketball shorts set. Jumpsuits, leopard prints, pseudo-tuxedos in pinot noir, and nerdy striped knits flesh out the offering alongside 6397’s new coats. One is a black-on-black jacquard in a vintage silhouette; the other is a distressed leather trench so convincingly worn-in it could trick a few vintage collectors out there. 6397 is looking a little rougher and tougher this go-round, but aren’t we all? Next year will call for fighting clothes, and these are the ones you’ll want to be wearing.
