Simon Spurr 2010

In the last two years or so we’ve seen what’s been dubbed an “American revival” in menswear — an homage to the classic outdoor pieces of the Midwest that are now the ABCs of every hipster’s wardrobe. Think well-worn denim shirts, coveralls, pre-wrinkled fabrics, lumberjack plaid, fishing smocks, and the blue-collar list goes on.

Is it just me, or is this “revival” not conjuring up flashbacks of Sanford and Son. Sign of the times? Maybe. Maybe menswear needed that traditional male (read: stereotypical) identity of the provider, outdoorsy-type to inspire men to, well, man-up during difficult times. Or, maybe it was a counter to the super-slim European aesthetic.

Either way, it was getting old. Just sayin’. And I would comment on the renewed interest of brands like J.Crew, Woolrich, L.L. Bean, and so forth, but cearly I’ve digressed.

Anyway, leave it to Simon Spurr, a Brit-born designer, to reinterpret the American man. (Side note: Foreigners tend to nail the American heritage thing, despite their lack of any.) Instead of looking to coal mines and ranches, he looked to Ivy League college campuses — or so I thought.

I had the chance to ask the designer what the inpiration was for the Simon Spurr 2010 collection:

Sachin Bhola: What is the inspiration behind your Spring/Summer 2010 collection?
Simon Spurr: The collection plays within a more romantic mood. Inspired by old Helmut Newton portraits, the collection remains tailored, but has a softer feeling due to the abundance of color and lighter-weight fabrics.