Holland & Sherry to be added in Stinson R. Ely collection
02 Jun '11
4 min read
Andy Stinson, luxe fashion's longtime brand imaging whiz turned menswear designer, announced striking a second fabric alliance for his soon-to-launch, Stinson R. Ely Collection. This latest, with Holland & Sherry, is for dress slacks, exclusively, and dramatically expands the fledgling brand's ritzy array of brightly colored, winter-weight gabardines and flannels.
The announced deal adds Holland & Sherry to Lochcarron of Scotland as Stinson R. Ely's two cloth resources and allies what are arguably the world's two oldest and most prestigious weavers of luxury woolens. It also promises a slack collection interpreted in heavy, English-style "winter weights." Both Britannia weavers, Savile Row's Holland & Sherry touts a near-170-old history matched only by Lochcarron of Scotland, itself a 200-plus-year-old, still family-owned boutique weaver whose River Tweed mill crafts the world's most luxurious, artisan crafted Tartans and flannels.
Strategically, the between-the-lines message in announcement predicts nosebleed pricing and signals an even further narrowing of Stinson R. Ely's already sliver-thin focus on a target audience of well-heeled dandies who habit menswear's ultra-luxe niches. Rochester, New York's Adrian Jules – itself hailed by in-the-know sartorialists as America's premier maker of artisan hand-sewn clothing – will hand-craft the Collection's dress and formal slacks.
Although Stinson declined to reveal retail prices, the combination of Adrian Jules' Old World hand-make with cloth weavers Lochcarron of Scotland and Holland & Sherry, assures a dress and formal slack collection without rival, the world over, and promises retail prices.
Though few in numbers, Stinson R. Ely's short list of rivals – all top Italia brands – rank among the world's most aggressive fashion marketers and include the likes of Kiton, Zanella, Brioni, Barbera, Incotex, and Canali. All are rivals Stinson has successfully battled before on behalf of his agency's list of Americana clients.
A widely renowned dandy, Stinson's own design rep is for tastefully juxtaposing often flamboyant design twists atop classic design themes, then interpreting his retro-modern design cocktail in bold, adventurous coloring. His inaugural collection delivers on those expectations, in spades. Anchored by a risk-the-ranch revival of the iconic, '40s-era Hollywood Waistband dress slack, an Americana fashion classic that hasn't been voguish in nearly 70-years, Stinson's double-dare collection also reprises pleat fronts and bets heavily on their returning popularity.
Once the signature of the silver screen's most dashing, matinee idols, the Hollywood Waistband's physique flattering, sleight of hand knack for transforming Tinsel Town's legendary leading men into long-legged, he-hunk Adonises won the Hollywood Waistband dress slack its enduring sobriquet and turned its high-waisted design into the world's top fashion craze of the 30's and 40's.
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