Dear Pennies & Pens,
Not too long ago, during New York Fashion Week, I had the pleasure of attending Highland’s Fall/Winter 2013 presentation. Highland is an NYC based menswear brand by fashion & costume designer, Lizzie Owens. In fact, this show marked Highland’s first New York Fashion Week presentation. Highland has been around for 3 years and has been racking up the press mentions with an interview with designer Lizzie Owens in Status Magazine and ridiculously cool interview and behind the scenes video on this season’s collection on The Fader.
For this season, Highland looked at a group of 1970’s California rock climbers – the Stonemasters – as inspiration. The Stonemasters started a movement based on a collective desire to live free of all restraint. When they weren’t climbing in their backyard of Idyllwild or Yosemite, they would stay up late memorizing and reciting passages from mountaineering books dreaming of ascending famous peaks painted on their clubhouse walls. Their confidence quickly inspired climbers countrywide with the risks they took and with the apparel on their backs.
To commemorate their energy, Highland introduces an array of colors influenced by the materials and environment of the modern climber. Purple, pthalo blue, and quartz refer to the spectrum of woven nylon climbing ropes, while chalk, grey and pine reference the rock faces of Yosemite. Hand chosen Indian ikat fabrics give texture to the Basic Shirts and Zip Thru Overshirts and this season’s repurposed theme continues with a hooded Baja made from Mexican Thunderbird blankets. Bandanas, Mock Crew Necks, and the tie-dyed Rollercoaster T to pay homage to the Stonemaster’s uniform while Highland staples like The Sherpa Coat, The Motorcycle Jacket, The Cotton Hammerchead Crew, all make a return with evolved construction and high-quality tech fabrics.
With so many different inspirations and elements in the collection, it could have come off as “wild” and “all over the place”. But not with Lizzie’s eye for sportswear, fabric, and style as well as stylist Rich Ayabar’s knack for creating unique looks. The collection was phenomenal. All of the pieces were so wearable and classic. The collection was also fresh, fun, and cool. It definitely reminded me of a west coast skater/bohemian/mountain climber.
My favorite looks red coat, pink sweater, and light brown slacks, a purple sweater with dark pants, an olive coat, tan sweater, and olive pants with yellow hiking boots. Overall, I loved the collection and I think you should keep an eye on Highland. I see amazing things from this brand. Check out highlandus.com and my Tumblr The Blogging PR Girl for mood images from the show.
And there it is. de la Pen…All Pen Everything.
