page 6
spring fashion supplement to the daily nebraskan
monday, april 6, 1981
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Designer labels reach
into men's fashion world
Jm- ' '3
By Reid Warren
When Bloomingdale's department store
in New York City first stocked Pierre
Cardin suits in 1964, the store's buyers
were careful to cut out the designer label.
It was thought that men would not re
spond to somebody having a "name" on
their clothes.
But times have changed and now
designer labels in men's fashions are widely
accepted and sought after.
The names sound like a foreign invasion.
Oleg Cassini, Giorgion Armani, Gianni
Versace, Emanuel Ungaro, Valentino
Cravatte and Yves St. Laurent all produce
men's fashions and are successful at it.
Armani, credited with being at the fore
front of the Italian influence on the way
American males dress, has said "I wanted
men's jackets to be sexy. I wanted to
change the look of men."
And Lincoln men apparently are
responding to the change in dress.
"I think when you speak of designer
names, you're talking about a quality
item," said Bob Patterson, director of
stores for Hovland-Swanson-Coclirane. He
is involved in men's buy. ig.
Men are concernec about trim fit,
Patterson said, and a designer name assures
them of satisfaction.
Patterson said Oscar de la Renta, Christ
ian Dior and Geoffrey Beene designer
clothing sells well in his store.
Inflation advantageous
Today's inflation actually works to the
designer's advantage, Patterson said.
"With the economy and inflation we see
the better merchandise checking out first,"
he said.
This is because men are looking for
quality clothes and even though designer
clothing is more expensive men buy it be
cause they know it is a well-made product,
Patterson said.
"The connotation of quality carries over
with a designer name," he said, and his
store stocks fewer items than in past years
but makes sure it is of better quality.
Patterson said today men are interested
in physical fitness and being in shape,
which fits right into the European design
style.
The European fit, he said, is tailored to
an athletic build that has about a seven
inch measurement drop from the chest to
the waist.
For example, a man with a 40-iiuli
chest and 33-inch waist would be perfectly
suited for a European suit.
Designer names first surfaced in
America when designers such as Bill Blass
and John Weitz became accepted in the
mid-1960s for their personal style of cloth
ing. Men receptive to designer look
After lagging behind designer names in
women's fashions for a while, men became
receptive to the idea of designer fashions
when it became apparent that the designers
were offering a top quality product
According to The New York Times
Magazine, the idealized image of t he
American male - clean cut, practical and
informal - has influenced French and
Italian designers.
In 1979, Giorgio Armani said, "Inform
ality is wanted. Everything goes today.
Last night I went to a nightclub. Some
were in a dinner jacket, some were in
sweaters; I went without a tie, just like 1
am now. It's amusing to have the variety,
and above all, right now, we want to be
amused."
The recent increase on informality and
comfort has come as a relief to some
American males, particularly businessmen.
Continued on Page "
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