Fashion Week: Sean John
2008-02-14
By Harriette Cole
You know that an icon is indeed an ICON when you go to a Sean John fashion show and see the range of celebrities present on the front row: Spike Lee sporting an Obama tee shirt, Grey’s Anatomy’s leading lady Ellen Pompeo (whom we spotted a day before hanging out in the lobby of the Bryant Park Hotel with her husband Chris Ivery), Debbie Allen and Phylicia Rashad (Diddy’s costar in the TV version of Raisin in the Sun that airs nearly now), plus Kevin Federline, fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, fabulous mama Janice Combs decked out in gold spandex and movie mogul Harvey Weinstein. Harvey? Really? That means Diddy is making movie moves along with all the rest of his action.
We’ve seen him in Ciroc vodka ads and sitting pretty in Cadillac ads—literally on top of taxis and on the sides of buses in NYC and probably elsewhere. We’ve smelled the invasive Unforgiveable fragrances (and surprisingly, a refreshing floral new scent for women, called Sean Jean Black Women, that was in the swag bags at each seat.)
On the last night of Fashion Week we witnessed a fashion show of dramatic proportion with a pantheon of exquisitely beautiful chocolate men. The best part about his show, quite honestly, were the models. For a few breathless moments it felt like we were watching living art. And I say “our” because everybody-- from the European editor who was seated next to me, confiding that she longed to see nearly naked boys as Diddy had shown in previous years, to the editors in front of me whose comments suggested joy in the midst of fashion -- seconded my motion: these boys were fine.
Click here to view Sean John's collection
Never mind, they were wearing clothes that were often extremely feminine: Cropped jackets, delicate, elongated sweaters that clung underneath their butts. Not the fare that my husband (or anybody else’s I know) would wear, but on these boys it worked. And then there were the looks, suited, three-pieced, and otherwise slimmed down that did work for your average metrosexual. One pair of pants was a sure-fire winner, with zippers up the sides that eased open the pants much like the zipper that turns a carry-on bag into one with lots of extra space.
The most interesting part of this Sean John evolution of style was in the bling factor. This season it was subtle, well sort of. Many looks featured braided wool scarves in dark grey but also, once on the most exquisite West African moving sculpture, in red. The scarves alone weren’t the thing. It was the adornment of them, with jeweled fringe, à la the chandeliers that lined the runway before the show began. The scarves were literally bejeweled with what appeared to be tasseled crystals, such that only the most confident man could even consider sporting one.
Truth be told, I can’t wait to order one for myself!
To repeat, the great feature of this show that deserves double mention is that, for many, Fashion Week New York ended at the Sean John fashion show and what the hundreds of people present saw was a show filled solely with brown-skinned models. In a season when blond is in, even after revolutionist Bethann Hardison has been spending months attempting to raise the consciousness of all people to the relevance and power of Black models, this designer responded.
Bethann says that Diddy was the motivator. He decided he wanted to show the pantheon of male beauty in Black. He was the one, after all, who recorded the voiceover, calling Black men "king."
Sean John is 10 years old. Should we believe it has 10 more to go? I say a resounding yes, because Diddy keeps us guessing. He keeps challenging his consumer with new ideas for how to dress like a contemporary, global man. He remains a trendsetter. Will most men buy into cropped jackets and long sweaters over slim pants? Not a chance. But most fashion presentations these days feature drama and are immediately replaced in department stores by wearable fashion.
Back to the point: icon Diddy. How rare is it that a Black man spikes in the music industry, the fashion industry and the entertainment industry across, at best, 20 years? Diddy has earned his place in icon land. What’s next? Stay tuned.