California Stars

SoCal’s best new label (no, it’s not Trovata)

July 19, 2006—New York’s Project trade show, which ends today at the Javits Center, will never challenge the runway presentations in Milan and Paris for supremacy on the fashion calendar, but if the phrase "super premium Japanese denim" sets your trend-obsessed little heart racing, it’s the place to be. Luckily, a visit proved there's more to the indie fashion scene than expensive jeans (though there were plenty of those too). Our hands-down favorite was Endovanera, a new line making its first delivery to stores this fall. The California-based label focuses on smartly tailored basics, like the black wool overcoat pictured here. Their jeans are subtly tapered and avoid fancy washes; ditto the charcoal stovepipe corduroys.

A few other highlights:

Responding to the fact that men were leaving their suit pants at home in the closet, the Other Side of Kyoto introduced a collection last fall consisting strictly of blazers made to be worn with jeans. Now the line is expanding with items like colorful shirts and vests in intriguing fabrics (think polished sheen and purposeful wrinkles). They’ve even done suits, albeit of the blazer-and-shorts variety.

In a denim market still overrun with bells and whistles, New York's FINN creations (for “Freedom Is Natural Nirvana,” of course) is getting back to its roots with an array of raw, natural selections. The Meatpacking District–based designers create only three styles per season, and this time around the focus is on untreated cotton, which exposes all of the nicks and nubs.

Embroidery for men? Designer Tylor Ho managed to embellish his streetwear-inspired, hand-stitched Tylho button-downs and T-shirts with just enough to be interesting, but mercifully he stopped well short of fancy-dress territory.