BUGATCHI TO DEBUT FALL/WINTER 2023 COLLECTION DURING NEW YORK FASHION WEEK

Bugatchi will present its fall/winter 2023 collection during New York Fashion Week on Friday, February 10^th, 2023, at its 57th Street Showroom in New York City. Besides being a big step for the brand (the first time the collection will be presented during NYFW), this will be Creative Director Anthony Keegan’s sophomore collection. We loved what he did for Spring ’23, so we were excited to catch up with him and Bugatchi CEO Cecile Revah for a preview.

MR: We’re hearing so much about how men are dressing differently. How are you seeing that change at Bugatchi?  

Anthony Keegan: People want to dress up but they’re not willing to sacrifice comfort. We straddle this in an elegant way: our product looks dressy, it’s incredibly comfortable, and it incorporates a lot of innovation. I think today’s consumer is smarter. They’re willing to do the research. They want to know that the product is going to last longer. People work hard and they want their clothing to work hard with them. The collection allows us to dress up — whether it’s going for dinner, or on a date or to work — but it’s always comfortable, and there’s life to it.

I also think people don’t want boring; they don’t want staples. They want color, they want print, they want a bit of energy. They’re looking into their closets and what they may have been wearing in the last few years and saying, “Okay, that’s depressing me and I’ve got to go out and buy some new things,” so they’re looking for new clothes that will delight and excite them.

Cecile Revah: Our OoohCotton shirts are exploding, but we’ve taken that concept and are doing much more. We’re doing ¾- zips and three-button polos and things that are really exciting. We’re finding that the consumer is buying that, and then looking at what else Bugatchi has to offer. So now the collection piece of the brand is trending really well. We’re now in so many stores as a complete collection and as a full lifestyle. So, while we’ve been known for shirts for a long time — and believe that we’re the best at it — we’re also finding that the rest of the collection is doing really, really well.

MR: Who is the Bugatchi customer now? Has that changed?  

CR: I think everybody wants to have the younger guy, right? Whether it’s a major department store or a specialty store, they’re all thinking about how to please him. For Bugatchi, the customer is 35 to 55.  That’s our sweet spot.  We’re a luxury brand. We are well-priced, but we’re still higher priced. We find a lot of professionals are buying the collection, and what we’re also finding is that we have a lot of returning customers. They are always coming back for more. What was also interesting was that the customer who is buying Bugatchi is making a good living. He’s making at least $180,000 a year. That’s the kind of consumer that shops more than once a year. He’s constantly looking to upgrade his wardrobe. And he keeps coming back to us!

AK: When we talk about how this person’s got a good living, this is also someone who’s seeking the good life. There’s this beautiful, new world where people can work remotely and find a work/life balance. I think that lends itself more to wearing color and pattern – particularly when you look at the sunbelt where people just naturally go towards color and pattern. They want to be happy, and they want to look happy, so they put on some prints!

MR: Tell us a little bit about what we can expect to see at the Bugatchi presentation.

AK: What you’re going to see with the new collection is that the Bugatchi collection has undergone an incremental evolution. Of course, shirts are the star of the show, without question, but patterns are a lot more explosive. Prints are a lot larger. As a company, as a print house, we do such an incredible job with our micro prints, geometrics, florals, stripes, and patterns, but we realized that we have permission to play in the print world and take it even further. In each of our deliveries, we have strong, beautiful hero prints. We’re also using a new fabrication, a sustainable EcoVero fabric [Editor’s note: EcoVero is Lenzing’s eco-responsible viscose fiber].

The inspiration is the 1950s, and pillars of style like Paul Newman and James Dean. These guys were iconic. How do we take that and move it into the future? This is our idea of modern ’50s. Sweater polos are very important. We did a printed pant, but it’s matched with a black cotton shirt. We have a biker jacket that’s the epitome of James Dean style (Everyone in the world is going to want our biker jacket, without a doubt. We all gasped when we took it out of the box.)

We also have camel coats, done in a layered cashmere, materials that are warm and comfortable, but super lightweight. It’s like you’re wrapped in a blanket. These jackets are seasonless, elegant, and have great movement.

MR: What other fibers and fabrics can we expect to see in the collection?

AK: You’re going to see a lot of innovation in sweaters from us. We’re pushing a super merino wool this season, that is anti-pill and washable. Innovation is very important for us, and I think that’s going to be a conversation that’s in step with the brand.

We launched a UV30 Plus fabric in spring and we’re offering an even wider portfolio of silhouettes in the fabric for fall. We saw that there was a void in our assortment for a great T-shirt. Although we’ve done many T-shirts over the years, when we started talking about innovation, performance, and the good life, we started thinking about UV protection. The piece has a gorgeous hand. It’s silky soft, and everyone just grabs it and asks, ‘what is this?’ It will come out in a hoodie, ¼-zip, and long-sleeve crew. It’s going to be a great layering piece for us.

We’re already getting ready to head to Pitti Filati to go discover all the new yarns for the spring/summer 2024 collection. We want to find something that’s equally as powerful as what we’re coming out with for fall.

See Bugatchi.com. For sales, contact Richard Gualtieri or, for media, Patrick McGregor. See Bugatchi at the Chicago Collective or the Dallas Men’s Show.