When I asked Michael Maccari, the Creative Director of Perry Ellis if he sees a bright future ahead for the world of menswear with all of the shake-ups happening on the fashion calendar, he responded, "I do. Even though everyone is showing differently, I think it shows that there is a lot of movement and a lot of attention on menswear." A lot of attention is right. Brands like Gucci, Burberry, Pubic School and more have opted to combine their women's and menswear runway shows which led to many of these brands being absent on the men's show schedules in London, Milan and New York. Though it may look like the future of Men's Fashion Weeks is sketchy, Maccari still thinks it's benefits to presenting during a solely men's focused fashion week. "When we did our first season we were a part of New York Fashion Week. That was great but, I think there's so much that happens during women's [fashion week] that overpowers the men's presentations, so I think it's great to separate them," he told me at the Perry Ellis Spring 2017 presentation.
Kicking off the junior season of New York Fashion Week: Men's with the first show, this season's Perry Ellis man isn't taking dressing up too seriously. "He's a lot more casual," Maccari said. "His dress code have loosened up. He's into sportswear and clothes performance." That idea of relaxed performance gear translated into jackets, outerwear and suits in different variations of tech cotton, nylon, seersucker and twill. A Geometric graphic rose that decorated Navy and Army green bomber jackets also found themselves on the back of a blue and orange ombré sweater and as an all-over print on jogger pants and a button-down shirt. Dressier options included an iridescent suit that would look great on show-goers like Nick Cannon and a linen suit paired with an embroidered tee and a plaid parka.
Overall the presentation was decent but, the biggest gripe was the strongest look in the room was worn by the designer. Michael Maccari's navy suit worn with crisp white sneakers and a graphic tee was quite dapper; fingers cross that it even though it didn't make its way onto a model it will end on the floors of department stores with the rest of this Perry Ellis collection.