August 10, 2011

MICHAEL BASTIAN ON CLASSIC AMERICAN PREPPY AND SUEDE SLIPPERS

I have been raving about Michael Bastian ever since he launched his collection in 2006 and winning CFDA for menswear designer of the year wasn’t a surprise.

Bastian continues to expand his wildly successful collaboration with Gant, a heritage brand world-famous for its take on classic American style.

Photobucket
(Photos from Park & Bond)

How do you describe your style?
"I can’t run away from the fact that I am pretty classic American preppy. But I think spending the last six or seven years basically living in Italy, a lot of that has crept in.

Here’s the big difference between how Italian guys dress and American guys dress: Italian guys’ goal is perfection, and when you see it, it can be intimidating. I mean, you feel the work that went into that rig—the hair and the nails and the shoes. Americans can spend just as much time getting ready and thinking about it, but the effect when you hit the street should be that you spent no time. All of the intimidation needs to be scraped off to make the American look work.


Photobucket

But the best looks come on those days when your mind is disengaged and pulling what you love and you’re just doing your thing."

No comments: