Did Nautica’s Black Sail Fall 2014 collection finally find
its identity? I’m kicking off my
menswear week coverage with one of my career alma maters.
For many years, Nautica did not seem to know where it wanted
to be in the market place after VF Corporation took the brand over from David
Chu. While I was employed there, there
were efforts to make it preppy and sophisticated. It dabbled in the more urban aesthetic
towards what their expensive (but inconclusive) market research told them. Should the brand stay true the nautical
theme? Did it really boil down to Father’s
Day promotions at Federated owned department stores?
Their fall 2014 collection might have found their way. Branding the show under the “Black Sail”
heading was smart in signaling a different intention without alienating the
traditional buyers. The outerwear
offerings, one of the brand’s strongest products, had a great lineup of
high-tech puffers. Even working with the
design team, I always loved all their little details, functional and design alike. The fur collars had a bit of luxury, the
sleek surfaces gave the fabrics more of an edge. There were a lot of cozy knits, a category
that was always under promoted for Nautica. They had a good balance of sporty and outdoors-influenced looks (the
frozen forest prints rocks). The slimmer
fits of the tops and pants worked well for the city guy who works for the
weekend.
 |
| photos by Mariana Leung |
I love the diverse model casting; Design director
Christopher Cox always had a good eye for models. I remember in the early days, the
merchandisers always observed that the bestselling colors for the masses were
red, navy and yellow. It doesn’t sound
very sophisticated, and the majority of those dollars might have come from the
off-price channels. However, those
colors were worked into the fall 2014 show in a sophisticated way in richer,
darker hues and better fabrics in pop colors.
Here’s to Ms. Fabulous giving a shout-out to my peeps. You all deserve a bonus.
No comments:
Post a Comment