Robert Geller was torn between love and war for his fall collection.
The designer, who was celebrating his 10th anniversary, started to conceive this line six months ago during a particularly unstable time in Europe and the U.S., and this shone through in his use of heavy military references and neoprene ski masks that at times felt a little threatening.
“It’s about the need to protest, the need to protect but also have some hope,” he said.
That hopefulness was evident in logoed love messages on sweatpants and hooded sweatshirts. Other softer touches included flowy orange, blue or purple silk pants and pajama-like paisley shirts.
Napoleonic epaulets and an embroidered wool and metal stripe on military pants provided a dramatic touch.
After 10 years of creating directional men’s wear, Geller proved once again that he remains one of the highlights of men’s fashion week in New York.

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EFM continued to elevate athleticism through fluidity and structure for its fall collection.
“I wanted to emphasize the lifestyle and movement of the brand regardless of gender,” said founder Donrad Duncan. The men’s lineup blended seamlessly with the women’s looks, most of them embellished with a tribal neck band that enhanced the urban warrior message.
Engineered for Motion remains true to its movement message as seen in some of Duncan’s trademark technical outerwear pieces such as waterproof wool coats, jacquard blazers, double-sided zip pullovers and micromodal military blazer.
Rap artist Young Paris performed at the finale, adding a cool factor to the street-savvy collection.

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Taking a cue from American artist Gordon Matta-Clark, whose work revolved around the intersection of projected geometries, Carlos Garciavelez used this technique — and his background in architecture — to create overlapping graphics in his fall collection.
But Garciavelez shifted this season from his tailored perspective to a more sportswear-driven lineup that included cropped jackets, parkas and anoraks with shearling appliqués and reversible quilted jackets — all embellished with linear geometric graphics that were embroidered or applied using heat-transfer tape to create the paneling details.
He still retained some of his tailored aesthetic by offering up traditional suiting fabrics infused with active elements such as a houndstooth Prince of Wales jogger pant and a micro windowpane drawstring pant to create a cohesive lineup that had a young and modern take.

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Christopher Bevans has quite the pedigree in the sports and streetwear market: design director for Nike’s urban apparel, collaborator with Kanye West, designer gigs at Sean John, Billionaire Boys Club and Rocawear.
But it’s taken until now for Bevans to jump into the fray with his own line, Dyne, that he showed for the first time at New York Fashion Week: Men’s.
“I’ve been like a ghostwriter,” he said.
Not anymore.
His collection married a street and athletic aesthetic in a lineup filled with technical bells and whistles. Bevans embraced cutting-edge wearable technology — he has a fellowship at MIT — by equipping every piece with an interactive touchpoint tag and NFC technology that connect to Samsung devices so customers can learn where to buy the garment, the cost, materials, etc.
Some key pieces included an oversize boxy anorak, a cropped hooded bomber with reflective details and a biker track pant with articulated knees.
This successful first outing in New York shows promise for more to come — and we’ll be watching.

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“I wanted to bring the skate park to the runway,” said Steve Aoki, the DJ, record label owner and designer who has spent the last year and a half prepping Dim Mak, the apparel line he’s produced and sold in Japan, for the U.S. market.
Since being active is a trend, this New York Fashion Week: Men’s season has already shown a few designers injecting movement into their shows — whether that was the ice skating at Samuelsohn or the light cycling at Uri Minkoff. But Aoki’s presentation was more of a bold declaration as opposed to a cute idea. The CFDA allowed him to set up two half-pipes within Skylight Clarkson Sq where groups of Dim Mak-wearing skaters took turns dropping in while Mangchi, a self described “hammer” band — mangchi means hammer in Korean — performed.
For the past few seasons, the skater’s wardrobe has been a primary point of reference for a multitude of brands, but Aoki’s proposition felt authentic. The skaters looked quite comfortable in the collection, which consisted of the pieces one would expect — hoodies, denim jackets, Carhartt-style coats and wide-leg trousers — but Aoki said he made a concentrated effort to distinguish the line from what’s already in the U.S.

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He may have been the second man to walk on the moon, but on Tuesday morning Buzz Aldrin was the very first astronaut to ever walk at New York Fashion Week: Men’s.
“I didn’t realize we were in for a nude beach,” remarked the newly minted 87-year-old model after the presentation, still donning his silver Nick Graham-designed NASA jacket and silver sneaks as he eyed his fellow models shedding their duds backstage. A “beautiful view,” indeed.
Aldrin’s graduate astronautics degree from M.I.T. proved handy while making his walk for the show’s finale. “I wasn’t sure what side to get on,” Aldrin remarked, referring to the crowd lined up tangent to the presentation’s linear walkway. “If I walked too close to the people, then not enough of them would see it. I’m always calculating time and distance.”
Aldrin was joined at Skylight Clarkson by another space buff, and a repeat Nick Graham show attendee and collaborator — Bill Nye, who initially bonded with the designer over their shared love of space and Carl Sagan. Nye opened Graham’s presentation with a brief science lecture. The theme of the collection? “Life on Mars.”
Speaking of life on Mars, Nye reflected on another popular space persona post-show: Elon

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Calzedonia Group’s president Sandro Veronesi and Verona’s mayor Flavio Tosi revealed the winners of the competition dedicated to the city’s renowned Arena on Jan. 31, at the Politecnico university in Milan. Launched last March with the sponsorship of the Italian underwear and stocking specialist Calzedonia, the international contest aimed at selecting the best ideas for the creation of a movable covering for the Roman amphitheater was won by the group of architects SBP & GMP.
“The Arena is a unique historic-architectural reality worldwide,” said mayor Tosi, underscoring that the main goal of the contest was to ensure the protection and conservation of the building and to improve its functionality in hosting public events. Tosi mentioned how every year, about 14 million euros, or $15.1 million at current exchange, are invested in protecting Verona’s symbol from bad weather. “The rain is the major enemy of the Arena,” he said, explaining how this is causing fallings in the structure.
First introduced in 1995, the idea of creating a 129,167-square-foot movable covering was never really discussed since last year, when it was presented to the government’s ministers, who asked to receive real projects in order to evaluate the actual feasibility of the concept.
Veronesi contacted mayor Tosi

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Facing intense competition both online and from major stores, specialty retailers shopped carefully for distinctive items, lifestyle togs, denim and jewelry at the trans-seasonal women’s market held Jan. 25 to 28 at the Dallas Market Center.
Orders were split about evenly between spring and summer deliveries and pre-fall and fall, according to sales agents. Buyers responded to a range of hues, from soft blush and peachy neutrals to earthy shades of green and blue and vivid prints.
“People are buying closer to need than they ever have,” said Tom Striegel, owner of Striegel Sales. “This is the first time I kept spring [samples] from my sportswear lines like Nic + Zoe and that was unheard of in the past.”
He described the show as “excellent,” led by stalwart Nic + Zoe and his debut of Liverpool jeans and Neon Buddha tops.
“Everyone wants to see something new, so anytime you have that it’s really good,” Striegel said.
Like last year, the market gained some traffic from the big Total Home & Gift show that ended the day before.
“Everyone is diversifying their mixes,” said sales agent Pam Kramer.
She did well with Vendula novelty handbags in the shape of a caravan trailer and a new line of neutral-hued jersey

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The role of virtual and digital, paper yarns and the importance of customized items in the yarn industry were among the defining features of the 80th edition of Pitti Filati, which took Florence for three days ended Jan. 27.
Organizers aim to increase international attendance at Pitti Filati and it seems the fair is going in the right direction: the first closing numbers of the January edition showed a 2.5 percent increase in the number of buyers, for a total of more than 4,350 visitors.
Nonetheless, a focus on the single figures shows a fragmented patchwork: Russia was the best performing market, with an 87 percent increase; followed by Japan, up 23 percent; France, ahead up 8.5 percent, and Germany with a 6 percent gain. The U.K. and U.S. remained steady.
Regarding the U.S., Italian spinners are watching with interest the potential changes that may involve the yarn industry with the new administration, but they were upbeat.
Silvio Botto Poala, Botto Giuseppe’s chief executive officer, said,  “It’s true in the yarn industry there’s much talk about a ‘Trump effect,’ but I don’t believe the yarn industry will be affected.”
Tollegno 1900 presented its new concept, “Customize Your Yarn.” Thanks to a partnership with Shima Seiki

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NEXT STOP LITTLE WEST 12TH: While numerous designers are switching cities and schedules for a change of pace instead of another round at New York Fashion Week, Carolina Herrera will be switching things up by staging her show downtown.
After three consecutive seasons at the Frick Collection on the Upper East Side, the designer will present her fall collection at 10 a.m. on Feb. 13 in the Meatpacking District. In lieu of the serene Fifth Avenue museum that was once what industrialist and financier Henry Clay Frick called home, the company has decided on a considerably more unfinished space at 25 Little West 12th Street. The move is meant to relay “the essence of uptown-meets-downtown attitude,” by being situated in a neighborhood steeped with New York history. Herrera said Tuesday, “I love New York and discovering unexpected hidden treasures and as soon as I walked into the space I thought it was perfect!”
Using the Meatpacking District address for next month’s show could be a sure sign of a new era at Carolina Herrera Ltd. Following the exit of Francois Kress as chief executive officer earlier this month, Emilie Rubinfeld was promoted to president and Lauren Astry Sorensen took on the role

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