Amiri fall/winter 2022: California tailoring on such a winter’s day
All about redefining what it means for a man to be dressed up today at Amiri
Shot in the archive of Wes Lang, a defining talent in the Antagonist school of artists, where the backdrop was a whole series of his urban mottos, from Never Felt So Good Before to Trust In Your Own Greatness. Either of which would do as taglines for Amiri, the happening West Coast label.
“I’m sharing my world with my friends. A live show in LA, in our city. Our first in our hometown. A great occasion for a lot of people who could not make it to our Paris runway show,” explained founder Mike Amiri
Opening this fall/winter 2022 collection with tobacco-hued trenches over matching botched patchwork print shirts and pants; suede jerkins and cardigans; knee-length long scarves; bold graphic knits and lots of man bags and mini satchels.
Though the heart of the matter were the great punchy prints and portraits by Lang of noble Native Americans, death-figures; gritty ghouls; blotchy flowers; or dark ornithology, in the latter case splayed onto paisley Madras shirts.
“Aside from the collab, I wanted to continue a conversation about modern menswear, beyond the conversation of post-pandemic comfort. People today always have a sense of duality – working at home and living outside all in the context of a single day. So, I asked, how do you do that in a more refined look in all those scenarios?” added the designer.
His response: lightened up tailoring, from clever redingote versions of black leather hoodies; or dramatic micro-check or chessboard print blousons, jackets and trousers in contrasting dimensions. Best of all, the two final rocker redingotes plastered with Lang’s defiant, badass images. Red-carpet royalty.
Mike’s a talented tailor too, who works in elevated fabrics with lighter wools, and removes multiple interior structures to create more leisurely silhouettes – combining suits and blazers with knits and T-shirts.
“A suit is not the only option to make a man look dressed up and put together,” insisted Amiri, perched in his living room, beside gently illuminated bottles of fine Californian wine.
The house Amiri has started its international expansion, with a planned opening in Shanghai this year, and it is now looking at potential spaces in Europe.
“We are tentatively studying some major cities – not to have too many boutiques so the brand feels special. We are an independent brand that sits in a world alongside houses that are 80 to 100 years old. Though we want modern luxury to look less like a corporate and more like an individual,” he concluded.
