MORE FINDS FROM CHICAGO COLLECTIVE

In case you missed these great finds, here are a few more items, collections, and ideas to investigate.

Katie Liu at Black Dog 8 (katie@blackdog8.com) showed us the outerwear hit of the fall 2020 season: from Taion, a Japanese quilted model with an amazingly efficient heating device that adjusts in seconds, $395 suggested retail. 

A step above: reversible double-faced sportscoats from Belvest, now repped by John McCoy and modeled here by Max Katzman.

Richard Choi’s top of the line was a gorgeous all-cashmere knit sportcoat at $375 cost.

At Blujacket, Sal Giardina showed us some well-priced and fashionable fall outerwear (flown in from China with early dating…) to complement their well-priced and fashionable tailored clothing.

And at Paisley & Gray, Justin Pace from Pinnacle Brand Group is partnering with the brand, bringing a new focus on fashion footwear. Offering two different price ranges, fun boots, and sneakers out of China range from $98 to $160; the more upscale footwear out of Italy retails from $245- $395. Most styles incorporate Paisley’s fun fashion sensibility, featuring a needle/thread/scissors design imprinted on the sole along with whimsical details like printed ties that relate back to prints in the collection.

• 

• 

• 

Of course, we found lots of amazing looks from Eleventy, a favorite collection that gets better every season. We also loved many of the new fall fashion styles at Hugo Boss.  Stone Rose, a brand that started as a printed shirt company, is now a complete collection that looks terrific.

We especially loved the fashion-forward luxury outerwear from Schneiders. In the photo, Barbara Kiersch shows us a gorgeous wool/cashmere coat lined in camo-printed rabbit fur—deliciously soft and warm, $1,500 cost.

Jonathan Sibony, a former retailer who built a seven-store menswear chain in Montreal, as well as a few women’s businesses, switched sides six years ago to establish Au Noir, a sportswear vendor already on the map for their in-stock programs and high margin opportunities. Also on the plus side: they don’t sell direct-to-consumer. “We buy everything before we show it,” he explains. “We own all inventory so our warehouses (Montreal and New York) are virtual stockrooms for the stores.” Suggested retails on the collection (crafted in Turkey, Canada, and China): $159-$179 for shirts, $350-$495 for jackets, $125-$150 for polos and $150-$165 for pants. (Sibony is also a partner in Robert Stock’s two new collections.)

From Leicester England with a heritage dating back (literally) 200 years, Paul Corben from Albert Thurston showed us an extensive collection of braces that can be customized to buyer specifications. There are two collections: silks with leather detailing ($18-$20 wholesale) and a more upscale collection from $35-$40 featuring suit and shirting fabrics (many from Gladson). The silks are woven in the UK and provide touches of British humor: sitting ducks, barbershop paraphernalia, perky penguins.

Another heritage brand with customization options, this one from El Paso, Lucchese Bootmaker (dating back to 1883) sells both western accounts (425 of them!) and upscale menswear shops, according to Jerry Park who is spearheading a new contemporary collection. Famous for their impregnable construction boots in leathers, suedes, buffalo, and exotics, Lucchese still has 250 craftsmen in their El Paso factory filling 10,000 special orders a year. Buyers can specify the skins, the color embroidery, detailing, etc.; delivery is six to eight weeks; prices range to $12,995 for certain alligator skins.

Also at the Chicago Collective, I was most honored to meet Domenico Nardelli from Angelo Nardelli, maker of some of the sexiest Italian-made sportscoats I’ve seen, well-priced and created specifically for the American market.