British Label Aries Embraces Men With New Unisex Range for Mr Porter
ONE FOR THE BOYS: The British contemporary women’s wear label Aries has added a men’s wear component and will launch a unisex collection with Mr Porter on Jan. 18. The label, which launched in 2012 and is based in east London, delved into men’s wear after seeing a demand from its customers.
“Many of my male friends already wear Aries, and I think that the community has demanded more,” said creative director Sofia Prantera. “At the beginning, Aries was created as a unisex concept; however, it was hard to commercialize. My background is in designing men’s wear and my women’s wear has derived from that. With Aries the cuts are the same — it always fit men, we just didn’t advertise it.”
The men’s pieces take their cue from the label’s Nineties streetwear aesthetic: The 20-piece collection includes jackets, denim, logo T-shirts and shorts with a deconstructed Nineties vibe. There are also T-shirts that were taken apart then put back together.
Prantera also used classical and historical symbols and blended those designs with pop styles on shirts. The price range is 69 pounds for a T-shirt to 1,412 pounds for a sheepskin jacket. The collection will be available for purchase on the brand’s web site and on mrporter.com.
“For me clothes are really a vehicle for an idea or culture and it’s about connecting with the people who share those ideas,” said Prantera. “So many women’s fashion environments don’t really connect with those references or see women’s casual wear as designed enough. For me, it’s often men’s wear departments, stores or floors where the culture is the right fit for Aries and I’m excited about this next chapter.”
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