Word: bartlette
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...doubt it, the proof is in the Hush Puppies. The sudden grooviness of this geek staple has been widely attributed to Bartlett. "I was looking for a very American, institutional, '50s, My Three Sons shoe for the fall '95 show," says Bartlett. "We called [Hush Puppies] and asked for some old styles they were not really doing anymore." Bartlett had the shoes custom-dyed in hues to match his suits. Hush Puppies, which claims it was already orchestrating a comeback, got a huge boost from his ideas. Bartlett's newest foray into shoes is a little less traditional...
They won't be Bartlett's first tough sell. "Sometimes, the difficult stuff sells first," says Colby McWilliams, men's fashion director at Neiman Marcus. "His sailor pant had a difficult fit, but it was the first thing that sold for us." McWilliams says Bartlett's customers are mostly young, urban, trim, confident and, yes, gay. While Bartlett, who is openly gay, moved away from the body-clutching clothes of prior seasons with his recent show, these are still not duds for the chubby. And while Bartlett is also openly from Cincinnati, Ohio, you can't buy his clothes there...
Like big cities, Bartlett has an appealingly awkward mix of influences. His clothes still have the homoerotic scent that marked his earlier collections, but the aroma is now more a celebration of the male form. Woven into this body-love is a hint of bookish geekiness, as if G.I. Joe had been given Gomer Pyle's soul. Or as Bartlett describes it: "Think the U.P.S. man meets Paul Bowles, Hello Sailor meets Hello Kitty, the Army Corps meets Lilly Pulitzer...
What this means in actual threads is lots of variations on cargo and sailor pants; safari-esque tops that Bartlett calls "ranger" shirts; jackets and trousers made of sailcloth, waxed cotton or suede; and colors that range from "cement" and "sand" to "citrus." Bartlett offers his customers a chance to dress dangerously but not ludicrously (well, except maybe for the hot pink cashmere stretch jacket paired with hot pink leather pants...
...While Bartlett says he would rather have a smaller, more focused business like Helmut Lang or Paul Smith than develop a huge multiplex of style like the label of Ralph Lauren or Calvin Klein, he still has expansion plans. Having his clothes produced in Italy rather than in the U.S. means better tailoring and fabrics, but has raised prices. Eventually he plans to introduce a cheaper line for the malls. By then, maybe Bartlett's nerdy sexuality will be a look the masses can pull...