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Subterfuge favorite Built For Man is back again and strong this season with its third runway presentation, executed amidst automobile decadence in the Ferrari Maserati showroom on Capitol Hill. Seattle has many talented designers, but few are as well-rounded and poised for success as Francisco Hernandez's Built For Man. Jackets, shirts, sweaters, tunics, pants, scarves along with an array of accessories made up this year's enticing collection. While staying true to the house's design aesthetic, we saw well-executed experimentation in color and texture, which came off as bold but approachable for men of every background and taste. Designer Francisco Hernandez shows Seattle men once again, not only how to dress, but how to properly put a runway show together with hot cars, hot guys, and hot threads.

Two hundred of Seattle’s sartorial set descended upon the Ferrari Maserati showroom the evening of February 22nd for Built For Man’s Autumn/Winter 2011/12 collection. Bright lights, great beats, and a glass of wine greeted guests when the doors opened to the elegant showroom appointed with sleek machines and an upscale LA-meets-NYC fashion feel. This was the third and largest runway show for the label and a declaration that Built For Man is here to stay and means business. With PR by Gruman & Nicoll, the show was professionaIly and efficiently executed. (In my experience, runway shows rarely start on time. This event begged to differ, with a slight change in music urging me to take my front row seat promptly at 8:00.)

The show began with a twist on Built For Man’s classic "Urban Nomad" look with tunics and arm warmers in black and red. The unconventional tunics speak to Hernandez’s desire to experiment with geometric shapes and form to create a multi-faceted garment that demands to be worn in more than one manner. For this collection, Hernandez added a variation on trouser design to their repertoire. Made of a light wool flannel, these drawstring pants created a skinny jean feel with contrasting rhomboid knee pieces and inseam pattern shaping which ingeniously gives the material, usually reserved for dress slacks, the ability to conform to a different shape entirely—an inventive and flattering illusion which complimented the entire collection. The perfect addition to these unique pants were classic understated black shoes, donated by Adidas. Building up the neck is Built For Man’s quintessential men’s silhouette and claim to fame. This year promises to top last year’s collection with hand-crafted and complex neck warmers knit with a decadent crosshatch pattern, another subtlety that adds to the Built For Man appeal season after season. It's all proof positive that, for Hernandez, it’s all in the details—details that true fashion aficionados certainly wouldn’t overlook.

Built For Man also added structured jackets with silhouettes that make nods to that of Thierry Mugler and Claude Montana in the shape of the shoulders and hoods, collar pin-tucks and pointed cuffs which layer with pointed cuff shirts underneath. The color palette references Chanel’s 2010 Fall Collection with its use of camel, black and off-white, but Hernandez made some smart and textured additions with bright pistachio and cobalt blue. Python and cobra prints are used as asymmetrical pattern accents in his tried-and-true long pima cotton tunics—another aesthetic that I feel went over a few heads but didn’t escape the eyes of those who “get” the design concept and its proper application in a well-rounded look. One should never be shy of bold prints; when placed cleverly they can give a wardrobe an untouchable edge. I commend Built For Man for its courage in this regard and praise its successful application of it. According to Francisco, python and cobra are poised to be regular accent prints for future collections by Built For Man. I couldn’t be happier with his decision. With so much in store in the year to come, the Built For Man brand is on the rise locally, nationally, and internationally, and promising to save men from the confines of stagnant masculine modes.
 

Be sure to check out Builtforman.com and David Lawrence at The Bravern for this year's collection.