the PIPELINE: Style on Tap

• Previous Morning Java: Clapped in Cuffs, Anna's Threepeat, and Romanov Style
• Box Lunch: Avery Everywhere, Walks of Shame, and Douchebag Lit Next

• July 2, 2008 11:00 AM
• News

Legends of the Fall: John Varvatos & Converse Deliver Another Cool Collection

By Gabriel Bell

Maybe it's because we're knee-deep in the men's spring collections from Milan and Paris, or maybe it's because our A/C is on the fritz, but the cool breezes of fall have been on the brain. Lucky us, a reminder of colder days to come landed in our inbox yesterday—the new Converse by John Varvatos casualwear collection for fall.

Just like the previous season, a favorite in these parts, the new fall line from Converse by John Varvatos is a solid balance of clean-cut American standards and rock-chic. Now, we realize the line rests on the shoulders of a shoe collection that began when Varvatos ripped the laces right out of the classic Chucks, creating a new variant on the timeless icon. But thumbing through this lookbook, it was the clothes that got us hot (or was that the A/C cutting out again?).

Varvatos has added more edge this time, using military troupes for both men and women (most successfully in a women's corded leather jacket with brass buttons). There's also a clever mix of sport elements (sweatsuit jackets for the boys) and glam flourishes (sequined pants for the girls). There's a cheetah pattern jacket that's cut conservatively, but still has a bit of trash rocker in it, and a handful of men's blazers that could easily work at either dinner with the 'rents or the Bowery Ballroom. Now, just 83 days till fall.

For more information, go to www.converse.com.

More Posts:
Americanification: In the Mood for Old Glory
Into the Deep End: Topshop Dives into McCarren Park Pool