When Kelly Clarkson croons that “everybody has a dark side,” Michael Bastian certainly does not come to mind. But MB delivered a Fall/Winter collection that showcased a darker side to the designer’s design sensibilities and was complex in its beauty.
Below, a selection of looks from Michael Bastian F/W 13. Overall, a terrific addition to MB’s already-impressive oeuvre.
From Style.com:
The scene, imaginatively at least, at the latest Gant by Michael Bastian presentation was the Galapagos Islands. “It’s so funny, because everyone’s saying, ‘When did you go to the Galapagos?’” Bastian said. “The answer is never. But sometimes your idea of a place is even better than the reality. I did see the documentary on BBC America, which I encourage everybody to watch.”
Bastian dreamed up a pair of young backpackers making their way through the islands, dressed in a combination of their preppy best, their new island finds, and the technical gear necessary to weather the clime. That new technical gear, in the form of nylon windbreakers with Aertex linings, represented the newest category addition to the label. As for the rest, it was the better-than-basics it has been for several collections, with highlights including the camouflage cargo pants, knits (like a reversed Fair Isle), and Baja hoodies with South American motifs. Bastian has been designing the line for several seasons now—seven, precisely—he said as he surveyed the scene. It was meant to be one or two. That’s a measure of the sweet spot he’s hitting, as well as the good time he’s having doing it. No wonder he chose a voyager theme. “Gant’s like my vacation,” he said. “There’s never a very heavy emotional subtext to it; it’s just cool clothes.”
As ‘My Affair’ alluded to in an earlier post, this season we saw a more varied palette and a heavier emphasis on activewear.
Friend of ‘My Affair’ Michael Macko has described Bastian’s collection as “inspired by the Bruce Weber GQ covers of the 80s, “Looking Good” and “Dressing Right” by Charles Hix, and a Donna Summer soundtrack.”
Others have in turn spoken of the American colorfield painter Helen Frankenthaler and classic styles from the early 1980s as sources of inspiration.
Indeed, the collection was coherent and pulled together quite nicely overall by what GQ referred to as “[clothing for] a sun-bronzed, gym-readied, collar-flipped dandy.”
Congratulations to our very own Michael Bastian on yet another successful season!
And the bow:
It is titled “Sunshine Days!” and is a glimpse of Michael Bastian’s latest collection for GANT, which was inspired by The Brady Bunch’s colorful Hawaii Bound episode.
See it at the link below –
