Phillip Lim brings the concept of white noise to his Fall 2012 collection, using frequencies of white to intensify his rich palette, constructing a collection that elevates the sartorial style of 1960s British counterculture, re-working the formal houndstooth and oxford prints worn by suedeheads and rudeboys. Cropped cuts and exaggerated layering are balanced by contemporary trompe l’oeil twists: two-in-one shorts are layered over lounge pants, wool dress pants feature illusion panels and a convertible intarsia knit sweater with detachable sleeves recalls the suedehead-favored sweater vest.
Lim’s outerwear combines his signature aesthetic with the archetypal style of British boot boys, reinventing their formal topcoats in seasonal pop colors and functional, versatile constructions. Sheepskin marks a firm nod to Lim’s counterculture influence, whether sliced in panels at the chest of a sleek white overcoat, or dyed bright orange across a bomber jacket, alongside a stand-out digital print gentlemen’s overcoat – a clear reinvention of the classic Crombie coat that was commonplace among the formally-inclined suedeheads.