Inspired by the elegant nomads in Jan Yoors' book "The Heroic Present", J. Sabatino put forth a fall collection teeming with disheveled dandy and thrift store elegance. Narcissistically, I couldn't help but feel that the collection was just so me: the tailoring in relaxed shapes, the dandiness of printed silk, the mystery of wide-brimmed hats are all images high up in my virtual inspiration board. J. Sabatino's Fall 2011 collection was unmistakably directional yet keenly salable, and shows immense growth from the designer since Spring 2011.I stepped through a heavy black metal doorway in the middle of the East Village into an old, cold theater. Onstage, a lone accordion player and a model in one of the looks by the designer, spot-lit as if he were being introduced as a character in a folk play.
Here are my snapshots of the looks:a rugged-relaxed denim suita black finger-woven chunky knit with a charcoal-printed shirta furry-lined coat and a belted vestsilk scarf worn as a sashblanket over jacketthe finale, and my favorite look of them all: heavy black wool suit with wide-legged trousers accentuated by shots of red
A short verse headlined the show's press release which I think succinctly embodied the feel of the collection:
“To the elegant nomads... drifters and grifters.Con men and caravan dandies,Rumpled romantics,Carefree carnies and those who sleep under the stars.”