Each of the menswear spectacles that Umit Benan used to stage in Milan revolved around a contemporary male archetype: the hedge funder, the graffiti artist, the army grunt, and so on. Embodiments—some more ambiguous than others—of a type of hero. Benan relocated to Paris for his latest presentation, and there was no ambiguity about this archetype: the sports hero. Titled "Home Run," it was inspired by Jackie Robinson, the African-American who, in the forties, was the first player to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball. Benan was keen to point out that this wasn t just me-too opportunism, trailing in the footsteps of the movie 42, as well as several other recent projects which have highlighted racial injustices in U.S. history. Benan said he d been absorbed by the story for at least four years, since he bought some photos from a vendor on New York s Houston Street of Robinson playing baseball in Cuba.
Besides, Benan s always been fascinated by the facts and fictions of male identity—his models were memorably masked in a couple of the Milan presentations. Here, they initially walked with baseball mitts held over their faces. That was Benan s comment on the racism that rendered black players invisible to the major leagues in the unenlightened era before Robinson came along. Insofar as it s possible to engage with political and social issues in a fashion collection, Benan has never shied away from making statements. He took the fact that his show was scheduled the day before Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a sign. "God loves me," he said with a relieved laugh afterward.
Robinson was renowned for his elegance. Benan has always been a master tailor, so it was easy for him to capture the classic essence of the stylish legend s wardrobe: three-piece suits in houndstooth and tweed, with maybe a slight forties edge to the high-waisted, pleated, cropped, and cuffed pants, alongside a dressy take on the baseball theme. "How would Hermès have done a baseball shirt?" the designer asked himself. Not a bad yardstick to be using. Hermès has already shown a puffa jacket in croc this week. Benan s puffa in navy suede made a more accessible complement. Reversible varsity jackets were his new contribution to the canon of luxury menswear. They put the seal on what is probably Benan s real signature as a designer: his combination of dressy urbanity and masculine physicality.
