Between Coastlines and Continents: Amiri's SS24 Menswear Collection Delights with Its Duality
PARIS FASHION WEEK
True to the Californian spirit, AMIRI injects heritage fabrics with an unexpected vibrancy.
4 MINS READ TIME
Words By RICHARD O’NEAL
Photography by COURTESY OF AMIRI
Amiri, known for its genre-defying aesthetic and luxuriously distressed denim, unveiled its Spring-Summer 2024 collection, "Between the Californian and European Summer," showcasing its increasing embrace of transatlantic duality. From the sun-drenched streets of Los Angeles to the breezy landscapes of the south of France, this collection is a carefully tailored journey of self-expression through textile and texture, building a bridge across the Atlantic.
The protagonist of this season is the AMIRI man, a creature of creativity and ardor, echoing the sophistication and nuance of his surroundings through a prism of imaginative artistry. His palette: the subcultural Americana of the 50s and 90s youth culture, juxtaposed against the carefree allure of a European sojourn. He creates what he sees, transforming what he knows into the tangible.
The pieces in this collection blend the nonchalant with the classic, the curated with the improvised. The borrowed allure of vintage styles encounters the bold reinterpretation of the bespoke. Traditional tailoring silhouettes are slackened and revitalized, mirroring the unexpected charm of found and reworked vintage garments.
Every seam has a tangible trace of the brand's LA origins. From the city's art studios to its alternative subcultures, the collection borrows liberally from the city's vibrant tapestry. Suit jackets linger at an extended shoulder, and trousers billow and flare at the base, a subtle homage to the super baggy fits synonymous with California's skate community.
This collection hums with the energy of creation. Memories of LA crystallize into intricate embroidery mirroring Malibu's undulating surf waves, while studio scraps are ingeniously reworked into ornate leather lapel flowers. The elegance in every piece is implied, never declared, inviting the observer into an intimate dance with detail and design. Hand-embellished bouclé shimmers with cascading sequins while flecks of tinsel wink from the weft. Glistening wildflowers picked from the garden of imagination festoon garments, making the mundane exceptional.
AMIRI's audacious twist on classic sartorial standards permeates the collection. Blazers are nonchalantly half-tucked over cummerbunds, and shorts boast an extended second lining that suggests an impulsive cut, hinting at a playful refinement that defies convention.
A sense of West Coast nonconformity is encapsulated in a novel language of accessories. Woven hats hybridize American baseball caps with traditional beréts, redefining the hat game, while the footwear playfully mixes genres. Basketball sneaker soles meet boat shoe silhouettes, and penny loafers are given a chunky creeper design twist, redefining the contours of formal footwear.
In "Between the Californian and European Summer," AMIRI’s Spring-Summer 2024 collection is a dreamer's idyllic journey through culture and creativity. It’s a celebration of the mundane turned exceptional and an invitation to explore the possibilities between coastlines and continents. It's clear the AMIRI man isn't just an observer – he's a bold participant, sartorially fluent in the language of dreams.
