The Tamesis
Consumers love summer, but designers not so much. Oh, winter, with those heavy, heavy coats, cozy sweaters, and durable pants. There is so much work to be done. The heat and humidity of summer give them tougher bones to chew on. This is a season of subtraction. The usual tricks were taken away, leaving only bones and no flesh.
Ronnie Fieg’s Kith is now in its 15th year and this summer is all about easy, easy, easy. “It’s one of those tricky seasons,” Alex Chirgadze, the brand’s vice president of marketing, admitted recently during a preview of the show’s Brooklyn headquarters (Feige is in Los Angeles, where he opened his newly renovated flagship store). “Whether you’re traveling in the city or traveling abroad, what do you actually wear in the summer? What do you wear during the day? What do you wear at night, whether it’s the city or on vacation?”
Guided by these questions, the solution was to take Kith’s most popular pieces, such as the best-selling workwear Alonzo jacket or the straight-fit five-pocket Webster trousers, and delve into fabric development that not only adds air but also unique textures when viewed up close, such as the twisted weave that gives a tweed look on a bomber jacket, or the rippled pleated viscose used in a chestnut brown matching set. Pleated seersucker, silky viscose rayon blends, and open knit crochet fabrics are often prewashed or overdyed, which has the benefit of making the garment both breathable and inherently loose. Chirgadze says Mediterranean vacations and stripes are broad touchpoints that have spawned pieces such as on-trend matching suits, belted-cut jackets in summery fabrics, tailored coats and casual button-down tops. Patchwork and embroidery are also used sparingly, just to add a bit of novelty.
Of particular note is Kith’s use of a lighter touch with its logo, incorporating it into tonal, refracted chest patches, or as a small preppy embroidery on an Oxford-style shirt. It hints at what Kith’s clientele is changing, growing, and what his wardrobe might look like as he matures beyond streetwear (Fieg doesn’t like that term). Still, there’s a market of men who grew up wearing logo T-shirts and hoodies and are probably wondering what’s next. Keith wanted to offer an option.
