“The story—because I always have a bit of a narrative— goes like this: You know how the people in Milan always go to the mountains for the weekend, that very Italian thing that they do? So you have the nine-to-five suits which transition to punky mountain and they meet the London guys there.” Having just spent a bracing few days in Courmayeur, chichi Milan’s favorite alpine getaway, I can attest that nobody on the ground dresses quite as James Long imagined them here: The reality is more about big furs accessorized with small dogs than the British designer’s powerfully colorful cut-and-paste of graphic, fabric, and menswear genre.
As a vehicle, however, that story worked fine as a framework around which to hang Long’s confidently zesty exercise in mishmash-ery. This collection was so rich in detail under all that color that it forced you, runway Ritalin, to pay attention and unpack its myriad ingredients. That suiting for men and women incorporated bomber sleeves, or duffle hoods, or crossover slalom stripes on leg and sleeve. There was a strong undertow of soccer references—manager jackets and soccer shirts—which, along with the bucket hats and Primal Scream on the soundtrack, alluded to Iceberg’s trophy status on the English terraces of yore. Artfully unpicked sweaters featuring semifinished Mickey Mouse sketches referred to another significant Iceberg backstory. Knits (the main event here, of course) and confidently executed shearlings and leathers were interwoven with working drawstrings of fluoro-mantled climbing rope. Velour tracksuits in berry tones and contrast pleated kilts in plaid and Iceberg collage were sounds-awful, looks-good propositions.
Since Long’s addition to the Iceberg team, sales have increased 300 percent and the brand has 40 new points of sale in the U.S., plus 40 more in mainland China. Apart from the fact that every time he comes back from work stints in Italy he finds himself saying “ciao” to his friends—so not East London—Long’s hookup with this excellent-afresh Italian heritage brand seems win-win. They should do a pop-up in Courmayeur, for sure.