These days, people don t just set sail from Brittany to Madagascar. But it was exactly this type of fantasy voyage—specifically, the visuals that define such different locales—that was the launch point for Sophie Albou-Mechaly when conceiving this Paul Joe men s collection. She headed out to sea with crewnecks and cardigans that took cues from old handwoven fishermen s knits, plus a sturdy navy Mackintosh, chemisettes (short-sleeve shirts), and tees covered in anchor, sea horse, and fish motifs. The tie print, like all the others, was designed in-house; gold stars to the person who created the cat sporting a sailor hat and smoking a pipe.
When the collection reached land, it moved into flora-fauna blousons, shirts covered in laid-back lions, and a classic khaki overcoat. Albou-Mechaly covered slip-on sneakers, espadrilles, backpacks, and baseball hats in the same identical botanical print—worn together, they d make for a twist on conventional camo for the urban jungle.
New and improved denim—raw selvedge from Italy and Japan and triple-washed jackets inspired by vintage Wrangler versions—were outliers in this grand adventure. Likewise the well-cut jacquard, pinpoint, and evening smoking jackets (all made in France), which were designed to be dressed down rather than up. So while you needn t feel wanderlust to see the appeal of both destinations, the collection s standouts were the pieces that signaled nowhere in particular.
