Fashion 88 : Menswear Designers Go Far Out in Spring and Summer Offerings

When boxer shorts are street wear and skateboard bags are fashion accessories, it’s safe to say men’s tastes are changing. And designers from around the world gathered in Los Angeles last weekend to show just how far out men’s fashion will go in the months ahead.

With more than 2,000 fashion collections to browse through, even the most conservative dressers could rest assured, there’s plenty out there to wear. But fashion adventurers are about to cash in.

The wildest and tamest of new clothes were crowded together as part of M.A.G.I.C. (Men’s Apparel Guild in California), the twice-a-year fashion exhibition held at the Los Angeles Convention Center and billed as the biggest show of its kind in the world.

Joe Boxer of San Francisco was the company that showed underwear as outerwear. Nicholas Graham designs the collection. His tongue-in-cheek attitude is the sort the world has come to expect from California. One pair of shorts in his collection is made of a cabbage-rose-printed fabric like French designer Christian Lacroix uses for women’s couture collections. Graham calls the shorts “Lacroix boxers.” He says he expects men to wear them for workouts at the gym and for casual weekends. They are sold at Neiman-Marcus and Saks.

His newest T-shirts are covered with slogans that parody more serious messages--”Just Say Yo” for “Just Say No.” NBC anchorman Tom Brokaw took a Joe Boxer T-shirt with him to Moscow recently when he went there to interview Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev, Graham says. That message read, “Surf Russia.” Chanins in Westwood carries the Boxer label.

Buyers looking for innovative surf wear found a tidal wave of tie-dye clothes at M.A.G.I.C. From Jimmy’Z, the best of the bunch, is a black denim “apres surf” jacket. Not only is it tie-dyed but spray-painted too, then silk-screened with a black-and-white photograph of a pop music concert. This may sound like a jacket designed to prove that too much decoration is just enough. But in this case the theory works.

The Jimmy’Z skateboard-carrying case is a true Southern California accessory. A soft-edged bag shaped exactly like the board that fits inside, it has a sturdy shoulder strap. Nordstrom sells the Jimmy’Z collection.

More tie-dye comes from Surfer’s Alliance, where “dressy” warm-up suits, an ‘80s fashion phenomenon, are mottled blue and green, like so many ‘60s T-shirts. The clothes are sold at Miller’s Outpost. And at E.G. Smith, tie-dye cotton sweat socks are the hot new item. The firm’s Andrea Mantel says they are colored by hippie holdouts who live in upstate New York and paint psychedelic shades of orange and green on Smith’s tall, cotton ribbed socks. Mantel says this particular item is dedicated to the Grateful Dead, “the quintessential rock band of the era.” Fred Segal carries Smith.

Among beverage companies with tie-ins to men’s casual clothes, Adolph Coors is the newest. The Colorado brewery has teamed up with Lord Jeff fashions to produce an active wear collection targeted to college-age men. Like earlier examples from Pepsi, Coca-Cola and others, this new clothing line is an obvious advertising vehicle. “We’re realizing our potential to expand our message of sociable living,” explains Greg Thomas, Coors’ licensing-operations manager.

Along with fashion trends, massive trade shows such as M.A.G.I.C. turn up signs of related things to come. One of this season’s most interesting forecasts has to do with U.S.-Asian business ventures. Some retailers compare it to the auto industry, with many major American companies now offering at least one car co-produced with an Asian operation.

Studio Tokyo is one of the clothing companies that gained high visibility at the show. Japanese-owned but based in Los Angeles, it features spirited, somewhat retro-inspired, very American-looking sportswear. The clothes are manufactured in Japan, but the company’s U.S. sales representative, Bob Maxwell, says he works closely with the Asian designer to tailor the collection to American fashion tastes. I. Magnin carries the line.

Kinniku, another U.S-Asia fashion merger, operates in a similar way. In this case, Chinese and American businessmen co-produce sportswear made in Hong Kong. Dermot Chan, vice president of the company, says American marketing skills and Hong Kong manufacturing skills make Kinniku a $45-million operation. The collections are styled by a Hong Kong designer together with the company’s American director of merchandising. They are sold primarily in the States. Nordstrom stocks the label.

Chan explains: “Japanese businessmen form partnerships with Americans mainly for economic reasons. For Hong Kong businessmen, the reasons are political as much as they are economic.” He says that he and other Hong Kong business executives are looking ahead to the time when the area will revert to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. Between now and then, he predicts, growing numbers of Asians will look to form companies like his in the States.

Three thousand designers and manufacturers exhibited at M.A.G.I.C., a show that focuses on mainstream, rather than high style. Most of the exhibitors took home half or more of the sales they expect to make this season. But it cost them up to $1,350 a square foot to rent a display space for the three-day event. Companies represented ranged from Adidas to Botany 500, known for its conservative men’s suits and sportswear.

Los Angeles has played host to M.A.G.I.C. since 1979, but that will change late next year. Elaine Mehl, executive director of the event, says she is moving the show to a Las Vegas hall she describes in terms of floor space. It offers more than a million square feet instead of the 625,000 available in Los Angeles. The move is primarily to make room for companies on Mehl’s long waiting list.