Not quite sure about the crossroads connection of cultural styles that Mexican-born designer Ricardo Seco tapped into for his Autumn/Winter 2013 collection – he took his inspiration from “the corner of Hasidic and Hipster,” with each model walking the ersatz runway at the Eyebeam Gallery Wednesday night styled with yarmulke-type hats and the pe’ot sideburns indigenous to Williamsburg, where Seco just recently moved.
But Seco’s “Alive” was filled with deftly tailored leather pieces, chic casual wear that was layered and draped, a dark and dramatic palette of black, grey and white with bits of green, and a luxuriousness of fabrics manifested in cashmere, velvet, wool and cotton.
Seco based his oversized jackets, slender pants silhouette, and casual disheveledness on, he said, a “deep respect” for Williamsburg’s prominent religious culture’s formal dress code, interpreting that into an “Urban Orthodox” look centered around talented maneuverings featuring white cotton shirts layered under chunky or fine knitwear and stunningly skinny leather pants that zipped at the ankle for even greater skinniness, plus great leather man bags that will be as perfect for a laptop as for a religious manifesto.
Oh, and as always, Seco’s collaboration with Converse made for some great footwear options, especially the platform sneaks he showed this season.