Consumers love summer, designers not so much. Oh, winter, with all those beefy, hearty coats, cozy sweaters, and hard-working trousers. So much to work with. Summer—with its oppressive heat and sweltering humidity—provides them a much tougher nut to crack. It’s a season of subtraction. The usual tricks are taken away, and they’re left with no meat, all bone.
At Ronnie Fieg’s Kith, now in its 15th year, this summer is about lightening, lightening, lightening. “It’s one of those tricky seasons,” admitted Alex Chirgadze, the brand’s VP of Merchandising, during a recent preview at their Brooklyn headquarters (Fieg was in Los Angeles, opening his newly revamped flagship there). “What do you actually wear during the summertime, whether you’re traveling in the city or you’re traveling abroad? What do you wear during the daytime? What do you wear at night, both the city and also on vacation?”
With those questions as a guide, the solution was to take Kith’s most popular items—like their best-selling workwear Alonzo jacket, or the straight-fit, five-pocket Webster pant—and drill down on fabric developments that added not just an airiness but distinctive texture when seen up close, such as a twisted weave that gives off a tweed-like appearance on a bomber jacket or a rippling pleated viscose used for a chestnut brown matching set. Puckered seersuckers, silky viscose-rayon blends, and open-knit crochets were often pre-washed or over-dyed, which had the benefit of making garments both breathable and giving them a built-in slouch. Chirgadze said that a Mediterranean vacation and stripes were broad touchpoints, and they yielded items like on-trend matching sets, blouson-cut jackets in summerweight fabrics, tailored outerwear and laidback button-ups. Patchwork and embroidery were also used sparingly for just a touch of novelty.
Particularly of note was the way Kith is using a lighter touch with its logo, incorporating it into a tonal, refracted chest patch, or as a small, preppy embroidery on an Oxford-style shirt. It hinted that the Kith customer is changing, growing up, and navigating what his wardrobe may look like as he matures beyond streetwear (a term Fieg doesn’t like). Still, there’s a market of men who grew up wearing logo tees and hoodies, and maybe be wondering what comes next. Kith wants to offer an option.
