At the off, this sudden transition from overtly surf n skate-touched streetwear to something that aped business attire looked like a straightforwardly commercial decision. And it s not as if there s anything wrong with taking care of business. In fact, though, Julien David said he d been inspired to explore the formal uniform of the wage-slave man thanks to his new office s proximity to Liverpool Street station in London s financial district—a hub of the harried. But nothing here conformed to prosaic dress codes.
David s hair-gelled executives wore shades—an Oakley collaboration—and carried hard-sided briefcases decorated with palm-tree reliefs in laminated "3-D" velvet, a motif that rustled onward on biker jackets, thick-soled skate shoes, and knee-length shorts. Their jackets were soft, loose, and long—some almost to the knee—and made in cotton jersey. These were layered under nylon fishtail parkas or over those bikers. A distant relative of Maharishi Snopants sported elasticized drawstrings on each leg and had a drill stiffness to the touch. One look featured a jacquard sweater proclaiming, "Strictly business," with the second word in a font that mirrored the one used on the poster for the movie Risky Business, Tom Cruise s finest piece of juvenilia. The movie this collection was most reminiscent of, however, was Point Break: David has reincarnated the "ex-presidents," and they re looking for one last score.
