The Fall/Winter 2012 GANT by Michael Bastian collection is a journey back to Michael Bastian’s own college days in Boston. The characters he had in mind when creating the collection are three friends, one of them none other than the designer himself as a young, preppy student back in the ’80s. Together with his two pals – a cool mod girl and her rough boxer boyfriend – he went to school during the days and hung out in mod clubs on weekends. Emphasis of the collection is as always on updated American Sportswear, but this time with elements of Michael’s notion of a Boston frozen in the ’80s added to the mix: the mod era revival, a touch of boxing and a little Irish Luck.
“Boston is a preppy city, and I was a very preppy business school student. But back in the ’80s there was this amazing mod scene going on, and me and a lot of my college friends really got into it. Mod and preppy overlap more than one would think, and it ended up in a very collegiate look, but with a cool edge mixed in there,” says Michael Bastian. “There are a lot of Irish-Catholics in Boston, I bet like half of the guys there have a shamrock tattoo somewhere on their body, and these Irish influences are also a big part of my idea of the city from back then. With hopes of giving everyone a cut of the Irish Luck, we have made a little lucky coin with a shamrock on it that will be on the hangtags of all the clothes!”
The collection is constructed of carefully selected fabrics such as washed and shrunken Shetland wool for blazers and knitwear, pinwale and washed moleskin for pants, and twill and flannel for shirts. The base of the color palette is made up of muted grays, earthy brown/greens, navy and burgundy, spiced up with splashes of bright orange, red, school bus yellow and shamrock green. Monochrome pieces are mixed with pieces in classic rugby stripes and plaids, as well as modsy prints such as houndstooth and tartans. Shamrocks, a ’60s Vespa, the lucky coin and a The Who-inspired GANT logo adorn many of the garments.
Key pieces for men: mod-must-have green parka, all-over shamrock embroidery cord pants, the burgundy shaggy Shetland V-neck sweater with front pockets, the tartan pants and the multi-plaid Shetland blazer with contrast square elbow patches. Key pieces for women: gray cropped university blazer with burgundy tipping, the “Where’s Waldo” style striped English rib crew, the houndstooth Amy jean and the reversible faux fur coat.
Music was an important part of the ’80s mod scene, and bands like The English Beat, Romeo Void and Psychedelic Furs have been on the playlist during the creative process. As a centerpiece for the campaign following the collection launch, Swedish up-and-coming band Caviare Days has written a song called “The Lucky Ones”, based on Michael’s inspirational story.
