RUNWAY: Brooks Brothers FW18
Brooks Brothers, founded two hundred years ago this year, is one of the stalwarts of American fashion. It has shaped menswear in more than one ways; presidents have worn it and it's seen all throughout many of the biggest and most important board rooms around the US. So, why after this notoriety did Brooks Brothers decide to stage a runway show? For one, it's a celebration of its 200th anniversary and also, since shuttering its collaboration collection, Black Fleece, with Thom Browne, it wants to reinvent itself as a modern clothier with a high fashion reputation. Did it succeed? For the most part. The collection was undoubtedly more youthful than what one might see in stores, the proportions were much more Fashion-forward than conservative boardroom. In the end, skewing younger and playing around with the pack isn't why Brooks Brothers has endured for so long; it's because of its quiet innovation and though the clothes were perfectly good, if it's indistinguishable from the pack, can the company last another 200 years?