“How do you make casual look amazing?” As Mike Amiri showed off the sixth season of his namesake label from a Paris showroom, he said this consideration remains top of mind. He described the positioning of his Los Angeles–based brand as, “the blurred line between street and luxury,” which sounded somewhat generic until he began to point out the work that went into making the clothes appear so West Coast cool. Shadowy palm trees had been airbrushed on denim; rips in jeans were patched and sewn over, DIY style; field jackets featured embroidered elements that weren’t run of the mill. But the main message was his push toward tailoring, such that a few highly stylized jackets provided a noticeable counterpoint to all the high-impact (and sometimes also gratuitously distressed) T-shirts and hoodies. The most original version: a white dinner jacket with a printed scarf integrated on the underside of the black lapels.
In the wake of Saint Laurent post–Hedi Slimane, Amiri likely sees an opportunity to both preserve and redefine the Los Angeles influence locally instead of appropriated from afar. Certainly, with Justin Bieber, Future, and Keith Richards among those wearing the clothes, he’s already achieved a level of recognition that adds a perception value to his standby bombers and biker jackets. But the fact that he willingly admits these pieces aren’t intended to disrupt men’s fashion suggests he understands the importance of delivering premium product that outlasts hype. “We just want to make the most remarkable products in the world,” he said. However the outside world determines this—and as he gradually expands from menswear with a small women’s offering—his own determination will be stitched into each pair of those labor-intensive jeans.
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