SPRING ’25 CHICAGO SHOW REVIEW: WOW!

Watch out Pitti Uomo! The Chicago Collective never looked better, portending a great spring ’25 season for retailers who focus on what’s new. The show floor was filled with fabulous unstructured sport coats, polished casual wear, woven shirts in fresh patterns, sophisticated knits, lots of shorts and swimwear, and tons of statement-making accessories. As always, the Italian and British booths added much international flair to the show floor. A new fourth floor offered an additional 33,000 square feet of open, easy-to-shop space with a contemporary warehouse feel. Retailers were leaving orders on the spot! (Or as Syd Jerome’s Scott Shapiro put it, “Pitti Uomo is for browsing; the Chicago Collective is for working!”)

How to digest so much fabulous fashion in so few days? Most buyers feel that the additional fourth shopping day really helps. That said, I second Steve Pruitt’s suggestion to rotate 15 percent of your mix each season, dropping the “old” in favor of “new” so that the focus is on fashion your customers do not yet own. This means introducing some DB sport coats, trousers with pleats and/or side tabs, relaxed fits, maybe even a few printed pants: you’ve got to show it to ultimately sell it! One caveat: while the ubiquitous pale neutrals (beige, taupe, sand, ivory, white) look sophisticated and on-trend, an entire selling floor of beige can be boring. Liven it up a bit with some cheerful pastels and brights, including those great new soft shades of green.
Here, a few favorite finds:

The Stock Collection by Robert Stock features 36 shirts, each telling a story, each featuring elaborate details and hand craftsmanship, all certain to make customers smile. Robert’s favorite: the hula girl on vintage Indian madras. Already sold out: the Olympic shirt.
David Sweedler and team have refocused the Zanella pant collection with a new 24//7 in-stock program as well as some retro-styled fashion trousers with side tabs and inverted pleats. Choose from tailored, contemporary and classic fits; $295-$498 suggested retails. Also beautiful sport coats in fine Italian fabrics; $598-$898.
The highly anticipated Steve McQueen clothing collection by Britain’s custom tailors at Douglas Hayward did not disappoint. With Alec Baldwin (a potential investor in the brand) the star attraction at the booth, graciously posing for photos with everyone who asked, there was much buzz around this exciting Spring ‘25 clothing launch.
Lords of Harlech featured Italian-made suit separates in sure-to-be-noticed patterns. Said by some to be the American Etro, this collection had everything from swimwear ($78 suggested retail) to ties ($138) and pocket squares ($78) to beautiful linen shirts. For those who dare: try the terrific patterned pants!
Check out the distressed washed cotton overshirts with mother of pearl buttons at Sartorio Napoli and some great soft sport coats, both unconstructed and full canvas.

Always beautiful shirts (and now knit sportcoats and elevated sportswear) at Emanuel Berg; great pants at Brax!
At Oxxford, Chicago’s esteemed luxury tailored clothing maker, Chris Brueckner noted that while 85 percent of their business is custom, they’ve doubled their in-stock sales. Retail prices range from $4,500 to $50,000 (for vicuna) and, according to Chris, DB’s are starting to happen!
Always one of my favorite Italian shirt makers, Tintoria Mattei showed an exceptional collection featuring relaxed luxury styles in gorgeous colors and patterns. Especially fabulous: the reversible models. Wholesale prices run from $105 to $150.
Another great Italian shirt line: Andrea Bossi, famous for beautiful men’s shirts with signature buttons, added a great new women’s collection. Fabrics range from voiles to stretch linens; wholesale prices from $90 to $150, averaging $110.
Fedeli showed some fresh-looking items, including stretch cotton sport coats ($505 cost for $1295 suggested retail), beautiful zip cardigans ($407 for $1025), and super lightweight pique polos.
Emanuele at Pashmere showed an extensive collection of beautiful knitwear.

Nicola at Salvatore Martorana featured an exceptional wool/linen/silk safari jacket and perfect trousers with adjustable side tabs.
Robert Comstock creates luxury as only he can do it! I loved a herringbone blazer with knit sleeves and some 30-gauge silk/linen knits. [Editor’s note: Robert Comstock is donating 10 percent of spring 2025 company profits to Operation Military Blessings (OMB), a registered charity supporting Military families in need.] John Minahan explained a new concept at Stantt: All-cotton natural stretch shirts with performance features derived from the weaving, not from chemicals. The shirts feature spread collars, piping detail, convertible cuffs, contrast stitching on the top button and, at $52.50 for $175 retail, some very nice 70 percent margins.
I found perfect pants at Myths in a frosted wool/linen fabric with natural stretch that’s 100 percent machine washable. Also some beautiful lightweight shirtjacs, $145-$150 cost for $350-$380 retail.
The team at Raffi outdid themselves with an extensive collection of beautiful fine gauge knits and wovens. I loved the linen shirtjacs with matching pants! Most of all, I love how the girls are keeping Raffi’s spirit alive, decorating the booth with their dad’s favorite sayings, reminding us always to celebrate life!
Alexander Julian is back big time with unstructured tailored clothing expertly crafted in the former Hickey Freeman factory in Rochester New York. Lots of color, great details and top-quality American craftsmanship are hallmarks of this reimagined new brand.

The many labels at Peerless, each with its own unique personality, have never looked better. I’m a big fan of Hart Schaffner Marx (I’m old enough to remember their former Chicago headquarters!) and TailoRed, but I’m also loving their new contemporary labels.
Nelson at Jack Victor showed some beautiful sport coats, tuxedos, knit jerseys and more. Most of the clothing is in the $795-$1195 retail range, looking far more expensive.
Also upscale at great prices, LBM 1911 featured a fabulous grouping of washed garment-dyed sport coats in beautiful soft shades, $895-$1095 retails. Their soft wools that are washed and frosted allow for year-round selling.

For an extensive fashion-forward collection, no one tops Bugatchi, strong in every category. (Hiring a model to work the show is a smart idea…)

I loved the new pant offerings at Ballin, and was delighted to meet Ron’s beautiful family at the opening night Collective party.
Hagen showed some fabulous shirts in soft-washed fabrics. Also outstanding: his washed linens with nice detailing and the half-canvas jersey sport coats, retailing for $695 and $795.
At more volume pricepoints, Eisenberg showed some great suits and sport coats, also introducing a third generation (Richard’s daughter Lindsey) as well as a clever marketing campaign featuring early U.S. presidents.

Always offering quality at great prices, the sport coat mix at Harmony looked particularly appealing: soft colors, beautiful patterns, lots of customers!

I loved all the Geoffrey Beene formalwear at Roffè: suggested retails from $395-$495.

Always fabulous and fun, Paisley&Gray did not disappoint. A full lifestyle brand with a whimsical spin, I loved the vintage-inspired cabana sets, the crochet tops (for men!), the square-cut swimwear, the sport coats, an expanded linen collection and some very cool baseball caps!
I’ve been writing about menswear for 34 years and Ross Veltri has been selling the same red plaid Zacchi sport coat for at least that long. Perfect for holiday parties, also available in solids, it’s a bargain at $59.90 cost!

The Windsor collection was simply outstanding: Italian fabrics in a slightly relaxed fit; suggested retails $995-$1295.
Although spring is a limited selling season for outerwear, new lightweight fabrics and modern styling make for very saleable spring outerwear at Save the Duck.