Romeo, Oh Romeo

Speed walking down the streets of New York on a Sunday afternoon, I cut the 30 minute walk from the MoMA to FIT down to 18, just to get a good spot in line for Romeo Hunte. Upon arrival, after checking in and finding my seat, I had just enough time to catch my breath before this collection took it away.

Certain items of clothing can turn a sidewalk into a catwalk. The Romeo Hunte Fall/Winter 2020 collection featured plenty of wearable winter essentials, sure to turn heads. Clearly demonstrated in this show, the brand is notorious for its outerwear which is both practical and fashionable.

Amongst the collection were 12 capsule pieces gifted to Hunte for reconstruction by his longterm mentor and inspiration, Tommy Hilfiger. He views Hilfiger as a brand that produces “timeless pieces”, describing the upcycling of their archival items as a “contribution to support sustainable fashion.”

The show and the collection as a whole stayed true to Romeo Hunte as a person and as a brand. For one thing, the Brooklyn born designer chose his alma mater as venue, using the stage and aisles of the Morris W. and Fannie B. Haft Theater as his runway. His vision to create “modern classic apparels” which balance both femininity and masculinity was truly felt through the entire show with female and male models sporting similar designs, while keeping outwear as a main focus.

Now, let’s talk about those jackets!

Throughout the show, continuity was achieved across color pallets, through materials and silhouettes. Fur, puffer, denim, trench, leather, you name it, Hunte featured everything, often blending classics together or altering their shapes to bring them gracefully into contemporary light.

One of my favorite looks by far was leather/trench/denim love affair that birthed this stunning coat chimera. The denim leather jacket on its own was good, but the trench layered underneath elevated everything. The whole look was seamless: tastefully styled with all black underneath while continuing the leather theme through the pants, boots and gloves. This chic badass biker was topped off with a full camo helmet, turning out to be a common accessory. Also, jacket morphing and layering were a prominent focus of the show, having Hunte successfully collage classical outerwear without being tacky.

Amongst the combo coats a few two toned jackets showed up, seemingly influenced by the insanely gorgeous trenches in the Alexander McQueen Menswear SS 2019 collection.

He also featured a few hoodie blazer looks which may sound bad at first, but were surprisingly well done. Cutting and pasting two classics together can easily go in the wrong direction, but honestly, they were pretty hard. Both the female and male hoodie blazer looks were curated in a bossed up, off duty type of way.

The ponchos. Another classic… on the rocks… with a twist! I wasn’t expecting to like them as much as I did.

I’m normally not the biggest fan of ponchos, but the tailoring of the cinched brown leather button front was beautifully done, giving the piece stunning movement with the walk. Paired with an all white underneath from the headscarf down to the the pumps made for a satisfyingly sleek and timeless look, definitely reminiscent of the 1920s. Elegant and simple, one of my favorites. Sometimes it’s the littlest things that make the biggest difference.

Speaking of…

While the jackets were the stars of the show, the headpieces played an important role in bringing the looks together… for the most part.

As previously mentioned, helmets were a recurring piece throughout the show. For some of the looks, the helmets really elevated the edgy biker essence, but occasionally they would be paired with garments in a way that seemed random. In this all white, oversized suit outfit, the only thing that seemed to connect the helmet and the rest of the look was the color. This just didn’t do it for me. The whole look was poorly tailored, unsuccessfully attempting to be oversized. It looked incomplete and overall lazy. That said, if this is the worst look in the collection then that’s not so bad.

Along with helmets, there were a plethora of masks, ski goggles, and sunglasses, all of which were a hit or a miss depending on their respective looks. But the one accessory that never ever even came close to missing were the signature Romeo Hunte head scarves. I was OBSESSED with these. They were paired effortlessly with everything from cherry red fur to jet black fringe and even beautifully styled into one of the menswear looks. A 1920’s memory still relevant a whole century later, adding a level of sophistication and completing every outfit they were involved in.

All in all, I feel lucky to have been able to see these garments with my own eyes in the way they were meant to be viewed. If Romeo’s mission was to create a collection that refreshes elegantly timeless looks and bring them into a new age, then mission accomplished!