Last season’s lineup proffered so many strong Shirt shirt identities—cartoonish ear extensions, original Basquiat graphics, punchy highlighter hues—that there was no telling whether this collection would aim to outdo or to start anew.
The first grouping from the Shirt Boy range consisted of ruffle-edged doll collars on baby blue, pink, and yellow shirts. They were nonconformist cute and well suited to guys in the prime of youth—we’re looking at you, Kailand Morris (the third model in the show, also known as Stevie Wonder’s son). Next came a couple of designs tiled with small varsity-style team logos, followed by a final series of lively color-blocked designs that gave the impression of being assembled from tarps. So far, so playful.
The show shifted over to the Shirt range with sporty parkas and windbreakers in panels of office-attire shirting. These were clever and had crossover boys-to-men appeal. Then, as classic shirts featuring various face illustrations emerged in succession, the collection entered into a different register. Created by the in-house studio, they alternately conjured up wrestling masks, traditional African masks, Picasso’s appropriation of African masks, abstract horse depictions, and sock monkeys. Basquiat would have approved. Versions collaged from different shirts featured cut-out eyes positioned at stomach level as if to emphasize the mask effect. Can you see where this is going? Yes, the models started appearing with the shirts wrapped around their faces. A brand rep said these shirt-masks weren’t planned as part of the design; rather, they occurred spontaneously as a styling impulse last night. Sure, you can Google videos of how to turn T-shirts into ninja masks, but this was next-level sartorial subterfuge (or else, a very cool germ shield).
The black and white dimensional variations deserve to be worn to an art fair so that people can mull over a shirt-as-sculpture. And in case there was any doubt of the offering’s overall upbeat, independent spirit, a positive mantra was split across two natural-looking sweaters sourced from an old English factory. Printed on one, live free; on the other, with energy.
