Shipley & Halmos SS14
Merging a beachy, but not fully nautical, theme with carefully-tailored, fashionable menswear takes a truly skilled designer – someone with a clear vision and knowledge of both extremes. Hailing from California and designing in New York City, Sam Shipley and Jeff Halmos, the two designers behind revered U.S.-based brand Shipley & Halmos, accomplish such a perfect balance within their SS14 collection. The accompanying lookbook reveals a confluence of two seemingly-opposed characters. On one hand, slim-fitting, pegged trousers, unstructured blazers, button-downs and desert boots characterise the cut and variety of clothing and footwear. On the other, a palette of not-quite pastels, washed out tones and patterns mimicking a minimalist Hawaiian shirt suggest a Venice Beach-type cool. This juxtaposition wasn’t a coincidence, however. Whilst the Shipley & Halmos brand has aimed for a comfortable yet not sloppy image since its inception, Shipley’s trip to Anegada in the British Virgin Islands inspired the SS14 collection. “Its features are decidedly un-Caribbean with washed out colours and desert-like terrain,” they said in a statement. “And, while flat in elevation, the scenery is diverse in texture. It evokes a sense of island life that doesn’t feel tied to one geographic location.” Together, the two polarising aspects meld to form a casual yet polished aesthetic, with hints of athletic, nautical and classic influences. Aspects like the leather jacket, stripe patterning and pegged trousers give off a retro Rebel Without a Cause vibe, whilst the palette of faded colours is reminiscent of a day at the beach; it’s as if the two designers took their colour-saturated clothing, dipped it in the Pacific and let it dry in the Southern California sun, with the combination of salt and UV rays tastefully fading it in the process. Although we’ll all have to wait until spring for these styles to arrive, the brand’s website currently has similar pieces in a darker palette for AW13. You can wiew the AW13 lookbook on FashionBeans now.
Shipley & Halmos SS14 Lookbook
