Scene: David Hart at Men’s Day New York Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2020. Operating under the alias “R.Mutt,” a reference to Marcel Duchamp who worked in ready-mades. Similar to Duchamp’s Fountain or Bicycle Wheel, he wanted to reinterpret things that exist like the pilot jacket, and the Western shirt instead of reinventing the wheel.
Hart revisited his greatest hits which meant taking a trip through his archives and reinterpreting his favorites. Among his edited lineup of 11 looks, he spanned his focus across styles and decades. The groovy dude in bell-bottoms, ’70s-inspired suede bomber, the urban cowboy in a piped shirt tied with a silk foulard, and the executive at the office with a slouchy pinstripe suit minus the stuffiness. He mixes dapper with glam-rock, precise tailoring with a retro-cool vibe, and baggy with slim proportions to give the collection just the right amount of attitude.
Beyond the archival references, Hart found other ways of presenting the familiar in a new light — a camp shirt printed with duct-taped bananas was a nod to Maurizio Cattelan’s notorious banana Comedian, and a two-tone cardigan that reminisces college-prep.
The presentation opened with a golden camel suit embroidered with wildflowers on the lapels. Long hair on men has come back and is trending. The earthy color palette was accented with pops of gold, red, and burgundy.
Talent for the show: hair by Oribe team, lead hairstylist Kien Hoang; makeup by Makeup Pro New York, lead makeup artist Mua. Shoes throughout Christian Louboutin.

Scene: David Hart with his “R.Mutt” cast.

A special thank you to Helen Oppenheim, US Correspondent for Peluquerias Magazine, archivist, blogger, and hair guru, for asking me to collaborate during Fashion Week.