Men's fall fashion

A model wears a mink-lined maroon ostrich trench coat, cashmere crew-neck sweater and cashmere five-pocket pants in the Sean John Fall 2001 fashion show. Associated Press

Major trends for men Military looks: officer coats, infantry shirts, flak belts, army boots. Preppy is back, big-time. Flat-front pants giving way to roomier styles. Leather, shearling and suede jackets are hot. Ditto corduroy and cashmere. Conservative patterns: plaids, herringbone, houndstooth, pinstripes, paisley.

The fall menswear fashion shows earlier this month were the talk of the style world in New York, particularly the Ghetto Glam-gone- awry look of the Sean John line masterminded by rapper Sean "Puffy" Combs.

Combs threw a $1 million fashion show and the fashion media went crazy, with Combs’ attorney Johnnie Cochran in the front row, along with singers Luther Vandross and Bobby Brown, designer Tommy Hilfiger and rapper Busta Rhymes.

With sales of Combs’ line, Sean John, expected to hit $100 million in 2001, his line - with its bleached denim, muscle shirts with sequined images of Jimi Hendrix, four- and five-button slouchy dark pinstriped suits and signature mink trim - is among the lines to watch.

But Combs’ own dress, a preppy navy pullover and white shirt in place of his customary full-length white mink coat, is indicative of the way men’s fashion is going this year. It’s way away from the gangsta and toward the gentleman, from the ghetto street to the suburban country club.

But what will trend-resistant Island men adopt?

"It’s a temperature thing. Most of it’s too hot to wear. We won’t even carry much of the fall stuff," said Duke Baker, owner of Flava, an up-to-date hip-hop boutique on Kalakaua Avenue that carries the Sean John label.

One fall trend that will catch on here, Baker said, is the Sean John "liquid denim" in shorts, jeans and shirts. FUBU is using it also, calling it "platinum denim."

The sequined Jimi Hendrix shirt? "Uhhhh - I don’t think so," Baker said.

Most other Isle buyers were out of town, at an annual trade show in Las Vegas where clothing manufacturers show their wares. Liberty House and Neiman Marcus spokesmen said it’s a bit early to tell how much of the fall line will work for Hawai‘i.

Other looks that might cross the water: John Varvatos’ line, which ranged from thigh-length jackets offering an English dandy look to pieces suitable to the great outdoors (hooded sweaters with leather elbow patches paired with slim suede pants). The line celebrates muscles, with plenty of broad shoulders in evidence.

He chose textiles like corduroy with an almost velvet softness in coffee and chocolate hues.

Joseph Abboud said the waning of the dot-coms is forcing men back into the more traditional workplace, requiring more professional attire to compete.

He mixed textures, pairing a suede shirt with moleskin pants and a wool knit tie. Soft earth tones made up his palette: camel, tan, moss green and cognac.

At BCBG, designer Max Azria aimed at the young hip man, who’s likely to wear a suit with tight boot-cut pants and a dandy coat or bomber jacket with fake fur trim. His colors were on the edgy side, with cranberry pinstripe pants and olive peacoats.

Azria’s sport coats were fabricated from smooth black leather and cashmere, either crisply tailored or softly unstructured. He showed them with wide-wale corduroys, twills, jeans and fine wool pants.

Designer Gene Meyer played it safe in black, white and gray with an occasional splash of blue, green, burgundy or red. He built his collection around a pair of hip-slung pants, usually in black or charcoal, worn with a lightweight white turtleneck.

His jackets are wedge-shaped and wide at the shoulders. The lived-in look of cracked leather was evident.

Several lines showed roomier pleated pants replacing flat fronts. Island men no doubt will be happy to hear this, as the flat fronts have never really taken off here.

New from Nautica, designed by David Chu, is a denim made of 2 percent metal, which makes pants easy to crumple for the popular worn look.

Tommy Hilfiger has replaced his techno-cool dot-com muse with a country club gentleman. He’s gone back to his collegiate, preppy roots with striped rugby shirts, red, white and blue varsity clothes, and soft pants in caramel and olive.

The military look was ubiquitous, but Kenneth Cole took it the furthest, with olive drab head-to-toe in bomber jackets, leather pants and shirts with epaulets.

Several designers said wistfully that they are hoping for the demise of the business-casual workplace. They’re bored by chinos and polo shirts. But are the American men who wear them? Especially in Hawai‘i, probably not.

Advertiser fashion writer Paula Rath contributed to this report, along with fashion correspondents for the Associated Press and Knight Ridder News Service.

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