Men's Fashion Week took guests all around the city from Meatpacking up to the burgeoning Hudson Yards area off of West 34th Street. We got a small peak at some Spring/Summer looks with a presentation by Ricardo Seco at the Hotel Americano in Chelsea.
The roof of the Hotel Americano was packed. Upon entry to the upper terrace the presentation was pre-arranged with models standing on cubed pedestals fronting the Hotel’s miniature ‘La Piscine’ swimming pool. Throngs of photographers pressed their luck to try and get close enough for a good shot without falling in; secretly the crowd was waiting for it to happen.
All of the male models wore matching extra-large pearlescent visors. These nicely complemented an immediate sense of palate: very deliberate summery hues of light pink and purple with baby blue all paired with monochromatic athletic wear, bomber jackets, and relaxed and oversized outerwear lending a Miami Vice meets urban contemporary feel. After listening to a brief introduction by Seco, the theme became more apparent. He wanted to interject a socially responsible angle into his designs and based his looks off of the island of Holbox, which lies northeast of the Yucatan peninsula. Seco, a native Mexican titled this collection LIFE, an apparent nod to his homeland as well as the variety of lifeforms that exist on Holbox.
Home to many endangered species like the Carey Turtle and the American Flamingo, Seco wants to bring attention to the severity of environmental issues that threaten the island as well as highlight what precious nature could be lost. The flamingo comes through in the variety of pink outfits and also quite literally as a few outfits even feature flamingo prints. Suddenly the looks all conveyed a sense of urgency and concern. The bright vivid colors called for attention before burning out as the crowd looked for meaning in the various sand textures and patterns. The collection was very adept at weaving narrative into otherwise casual summer-wear.