September 7, 2008

"Sartorial meets street"—that's how Simon Spurr described his Spring 2009 offering, which was aimed at a new generation "in the boardroom that is also comfortable on the street, for whom high and low fashions are equally important and relevant." Of course, a former designer for Ralph Lauren Purple Label is bound to have a slightly elevated definition of "low," and streetwear à la Spurr was nothing if not luxe. To wit: a pair of butch-looking bombers made from leather of jaw-dropping suppleness, or the bird's-eye wool trousers paired with a fine yellow cashmere pull and an eight-button vest (plus boxer's hand tape for a corporate-brawler effect). At the sartorial end of the spectrum, Spurr was going for what he called a "young Savile Row" look, which was best exemplified by the Prince of Wales check with a purple cross-grain he'd developed specifically for this collection. The confidence at work was palpable, from the formfitting—but not shrunken—tailoring of the suits to the waistcoats, which were cut with wider arm openings, presumably to encourage a little boardroom chest puffing.

— Josh Peskowitz