Based on the invitation, we were expecting a cocktail party. But when we showed up to preview Benjamin Bixby, the promising debut clothing line from OutKast's Andre Benjamin, we got something a little more up close and personal. The rapper/designer has spent the last several years working on his 70-odd piece collection, and he was on hand to take us through it look by look. (Trust me, it's a little surreal talking fabric sourcing with the dude who gave us "Hey Ya!") Benjamin claimed to be inspired by football players of the thirties, which explained the collegiate theme and athletic detailing, not to mention the more generous proportions of that era. And every piece, from the preppy boiled-wool sweaters and double-vent corduroy blazers to high-waisted trousers and striped dress shirts, had been constructed to a T—or actually a stitched "X," which adorned elbow patches and dungarees' back pockets. More casual items, like polos or a thermal knit with a faux hand-painted "35" on the back, were festooned with an embroidered logo of a hot-air balloon—"because the customer doesn't know where he'll land," Benjamin said. The same's obviously true of the collection itself—he was showing to buyers for the first time as well as editors—though we expect to see it on more than a few style-conscious gents this fall.