January 17, 2015
Tim Blanks

Neil Barrett’s evolution as a designer has called for a scalpel-sharp edit of anything that got in the way of his pursuit of precise perfection. It’s been an impressively single-minded journey, but ultimately restrictive. That’s why the green-shoots feel of his new collection was so encouraging. In fact, Barrett had gone back to move forward—back to his collections in the mid-noughties, when he found enchanting synchronicities between, say, stockbrokers and skinheads, or punks and the Amish. He used to love nothing more than a challenging hybrid.

The hybrid that shaped the collection he showed today was his tuxedo army from Fall 2006. Today’s first look featured an army bomber in a trompe l’oeil layer over a black coat; the last repeated the same effect in black rayon. In between there were variants on that composite theme—the parka that had khaki gabardine needle-punched to black wool, for instance. But Barrett also experimented with a new kind of composite: 30 percent of the collection was knitwear, with classic pieces, from jean jackets to Crombies, knitted rather than woven to create structured garments of a surprising and seductive softness. This was something new from a designer who has always been about the edge.

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