It’s a good time to be a geek at the house (frat house?) of new comer Christopher Lowman. The setting for his Spring 2018 collection presentation may have been a New York Mid-town restaurant, but the clothing he chose to show in that setting left the images, however, looking more like the photo album of an Ivy League frat house for the punk-rock-engineering major that we’re quite certain doesn’t exist… but alas, we are in fashion, so anything is possible!
The designer himself says he drew inspiration from the “modern day college student battling the everyday chain of emotions such as financial instability, mental health issues that lead to the possibility of becoming a college drop-out.” Every look of this tightly edited (thank God! Bigger houses should take note…) collection embodied this feeling. While at times the inspiration was shoved forward a bit too literally like on the washed denim jacket that was graffiti covered with words like “Agony”, “Educational Debt”, & “Knowledge” in what looked to be white out, however, that piece aside, the rest of the collection was a thoughtful interpretation of the theme in a manner that was intriguingly salable.
Again… thank God! We say this because as the week went on, it was painfully evident that most of the talent in New York Fashion Week chose to throw the thoughtful, inspired, wearable creativity that has grown NYFW:Men’s into one of the premier weeks on the fashion schedule aside, opting instead for bondage themed, anti-establishment, anti-Trump drivel that seemed dated on its delivery & took the designers into places that we visit nightly on the news & don’t need to see on the fantasy land of fashion’s runways. Lowman did not & for that, we applaud him.
Interesting takes on silhouette where both roomy proportions were interlaced with more body-con slim pieces kept the eye inspired while a deconstructed sweatshirt that morphed into a sort of poncho allowed the mind to think about what could be. Add to this a pleated trouser that actually looked right (the first time pleats looked right since the 80′s!) & it was clear to see that Lowman is a designer with a vision. Another feat he managed to pull off was his fresh take on Camouflage… yes, I did use “fresh” & “camouflage” as descriptives in the same sentence… Lowman combined a large scale camo shirt with a small scale camo trouser that gave the print an update that gave me reason to believe that camouflage may just have a bit more shelf life after all.
It’s clear I liked this collection & I believe retailers will too. I can’t wait to see what’s next & surely hope this talent gets a chance to show me. His collaborations with several major companies like Vivid Eyewear, Currency NY, Angela Mitchell footwear, Citizen watches, & even New Balance Athletics where he designed a version of their classic 574 Sport sneaker (Available July 15th, 2017) tell me he might just get that chance!
-R. Scott French
Designer Website: www.christopherlowman.nyc
Follow Christopher Lowman: Instagram
