Brazil is undeniably one of the World’s sexiest countries, and now the land of Gisele, where top male and female models are legion, can also lay claim to being one of the most fashionable. The rising BRIC nation is flourishing on the international fashion circuit with Sao Paulo Fashion Week now in position to rival if not join the big four of London, New York, Paris and Milan. Brazilian fashion is not all Havaianas and swimwear however, SPFW boasts some stellar design talent and on the menswear front especially, one designer who must be noted is Alexandre Herchcovitch. I first came across an upcoming Herchcovitch many years ago while working at Patricia Field’s 8th Street boutique in New York. The designer has grown much since then, showing consistently strong collections for both men and women that have made him one of Brazil’s most successful designers in terms of international recognition.
Now is the time for this man to shine: as fashion and menswear embrace a darker aesthetic, Alexandre Herchcovitch’s AW14 menswear offering cannot go unnoticed. He proposes a gothically dark anti hero for AW14, with an ultra masculine collection that heavily features a near futuristic silhouette with strong militaristic influences, sharp tailoring, superb outerwear (McQueen-esque skull print overcoats!), leather detailing and a monochrome palette with some playful leopard prints to break it all up. He also pays homage to Kurt Cobain and the grunge era in this superb collection that is a grown up alternative to ‘street goth’, that let’s face it, can now be bought in complete at Topman (a surefire signal that it is time to move on), in what is possibly one of the strongest and most coherent menswear offering of any designer for AW14.