Cloak Fall 2004

[baklanyc]

Anyway, not to take it off topic - I think Cloak is still very far from being hyped up the way As Four or IoC have been. And can a man's brand (except Dior) ever be that hyped up? Hype to me means undeserved attention. At this point, the attention is well deserved. It's too early to sound an alarm. The brand is still very underexposed in the continental Europe (that's why Alex is moving the next show to Paris). It is only in the US and Japan that Cloak is popular. Yea, they had the Vogue award thing, but did many people notice? In any case, we shall see. The prices are still very decent. We'll how it goes this year

Well, the point of the award might be more the $50,000 that they got, even as runners up! Especially now that it's Alex on his own again, since former partner Robert Geller is no longer part of the team (a reason, I suspect, that Spring has gotten much more dark and goth-looking?).

And As Four? Man, they've done a few interesting pieces that I've tried on, but nothing I would buy. Plus they keep wearing that damnable Shoulder-Fin Handbag of theirs everywhere. I'm sorry to anyone here who might be a fan of theirs, but I hate that handbag. Even a credit card would deform it. I cannot forgive them that travesty, because they won't let me forget it!

 

[baklanyc]

^^you definitely need to start posting in the what are you wearing thread...!!!

I'll do so the next time I'm not home working in my pajamas!

 

[softgrey]

aahhhaaa...sounds familiar...

 

[softgrey]

Well, the point of the award might be more the $50,000 that they got, even as runners up! Especially now that it's Alex on his own again, since former partner Robert Geller is no longer part of the team (a reason, I suspect, that Spring has gotten much more dark and goth-looking?).

And As Four? Man, they've done a few interesting pieces that I've tried on, but nothing I would buy. Plus they keep wearing that damnable Shoulder-Fin Handbag of theirs everywhere. I'm sorry to anyone here who might be a fan of theirs, but I hate that handbag. Even a credit card would deform it. I cannot forgive them that travesty, because they won't let me forget it!

you need to find the as four thread about their silver loft...
you'll see you're not alone...

 

[AlexN]

Man, they had a few of them left during the recent sample sale too!

Missed out again...

Dammit, I seriously need to send someone to NY or wherever to shop for me.

 

[mode_addict]

a friend of mine interned at cloak so i passed by their studio in the meat packing district. i tried on the jackets and sweaters for ss05 and was in love. there were a great pair of parachute like pants that i loved!

 

[baklanyc]

aahhhaaa...sounds familiar...

What, do we actually know each other in real life???

 

[EdK]

is it a jacket jacket you can wear everyday? are the shoulders really pointy like that? i kinda wanted it, how much is the regular price?

I just found this thread. Cloak has been my favorite brand for the past several seasons. I have WAY too much of their stuff!

I agree. I was lucky to buy a lot of it and most of my Fall wardrobe this year was tinged with Cloak: that jacket you like in your first post has been my staple jacket all Fall.

 

[baklanyc]

is it a jacket jacket you can wear everyday? are the shoulders really pointy like that? i kinda wanted it, how much is the regular price?

Oh most definitely, it's been an everyday jacket for me - it's denim, and the shoulders have a fabric cap detail that you can swing up (and look very spaceman circa 1950s sci-fi) but i generally keep them down - I just like the detail. The tux version had them in satin, but, well, I decided not. (edit: the shoulders aren't really pointy, not when compared to a Carol Christian Poell or McQueen jacket. I think the picture just makes it seem moreso. Plus the skinny model) I've worn it with jeans and tees since September. Oh, and they also have shoulder straps - it's actually called a shoulder strap jacket. I think that it went for about $350? I'm not sure - I didn't pay retail!

They might still have them at Opening Ceremony here in NYC, where I first bought a lot of Cloak stuff a couple of seasons back. You might want to call and check with them - if they have any, they're certain to be on sale now!

 

[softgrey]

What, do we actually know each other in real life???

i don't think so...but we might have a similar job...

 

[kLm]

I'm in the process of having a suit made by Cloak. Starts @3k. Compared to somewhere like Zegna, where it starts @2.2k, I feel like I'm getting a bargain.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but this is definitely my favorite f/w collection by any designer in a long time. I guess menswear in general is so boring that anything remotely interesting, wearable, and masculine is really appealing--and Cloak is very interesting, and extremely wearable. And with us (well, the U.S. us) getting trounced by the Euro, Cloak is cheaper than the European brands right now.

Baklanyc, did you get the long Shearling jacket or the shorter leather jacket? I wanted the long Shearling, but my budget was blown...

...at Atelier, where I got this looong Raf Simons jacket:

Lucky for me, when I went back last week, they hadn't put the remaining one on sale--I would have been bummed if it had gone on sale after I bought it. I lucked out and got two of the Les Hommes knits in my size, too, when they went to 50% off.

Did they have a decent range of sizes at the sample sale?

 

[softgrey]

it is entirely possible that the entire clientele of Atelier is now a member of this forum...LOL...

are those guys sending you here?!?!...

 

[baklanyc]

I'm in the process of having a suit made by Cloak. Starts @3k. Compared to somewhere like Zegna, where it starts @2.2k, I feel like I'm getting a bargain.

I can't quite put my finger on it, but this is definitely my favorite f/w collection by any designer in a long time. I guess menswear in general is so boring that anything remotely interesting, wearable, and masculine is really appealing--and Cloak is very interesting, and extremely wearable. And with us (well, the U.S. us) getting trounced by the Euro, Cloak is cheaper than the European brands right now.

Baklanyc, did you get the long Shearling jacket or the shorter leather jacket? I wanted the long Shearling, but my budget was blown...


Lucky for me, when I went back last week, they hadn't put the remaining one on sale--I would have been bummed if it had gone on sale after I bought it. I lucked out and got two of the Les Hommes knits in my size, too, when they went to 50% off.

Did they have a decent range of sizes at the sample sale?

Annoyingly enough, they DID have a decent range at the sample sale, which to me means they weren't selling as well as they should have! That, and I already bought all the stuff I wanted beforehand!

And I got the shorter leather jacket as shown in my post above, since I thought it was more versatile - although it has a similar feature to the shearling where the collar detaches from the hood and zips back into itself. But that Raf coat you bought is gorge!

A friend of mine wanted to have their white leather trench from Spring made to order, but they were going through the difficulties of the separation of the former partners at the time, I suppose, so they got back to him way too late. He later found a Burberry one on sale in Hong Kong, so no loss.

And yeah, softgrey, seems like there are a lot of Atelier clients here, eh? I frankly don't buy that much from them, but they are the place to go! I used to buy more from Jeffrey, but budgets (and thankfully, must-have selections) aren't what they used to be.

 

[kLm]

Well, re: Atelier--they have a lot of stuff in one place that can be difficult to get stateside--maybe difficult in Europe too, I haven't been shopping in Paris for a few years. I was in London recently but I didn't spend too much time looking because the prices were absolutely stratospheric. Also, if we wanted to talk about Gucci or Dolce or whatever, there are plenty of places to do that, but there aren't a lot of places to have a discussion about Carol Christian Poell--or Cloak, for that matter. So here we, all shopping at the same places, and hopefully all shopping in different sizes (fyi, I'm always going to be snagging the largest sizes--I'm 6'4").

I never saw the shorter leather jacket. I saw the cotton one, but I went with the hooded bomber (not the waxed one) and the flight jacket instead. And the knits, and the hooded sweatshirt, and some slacks... argh. I absolutely loved the long shearling coat, but $3600 is a bit too much. That white trench is amazing from last season. I never saw it in my size. I really liked the very military trench they did this collection, but it isn't very functional--even one size up from my normal size I couldn't raise my arms very high. That's why I went with the Raf coat, even though it is cut so slim I can only get a light sweater underneath it.

I'm going to be in SE Asia and Japan for about a month soon, and I'm not even sure if I should bother looking for stuff, because I've been told that no one will even stock my sizes.

 

[faust]

I really didn't mean to insinuate they weren't deserving. In fact,they're one of the chosen few who are. But you know the way the media in this industry works---they'll talk of something hip and cool and its rarely genuine.

Which vest would that be? Was it A/W? Loved that collection immensely...their best in fact.

Correct on both accounts, sir.

 

[faust]

it is entirely possible that the entire clientele of Atelier is now a member of this forum...LOL...

are those guys sending you here?!?!...

No, it's all my doing

 

[baklanyc]

Well, re: Atelier--they have a lot of stuff in one place that can be difficult to get stateside--maybe difficult in Europe too, I haven't been shopping in Paris for a few years. I was in London recently but I didn't spend too much time looking because the prices were absolutely stratospheric. Also, if we wanted to talk about Gucci or Dolce or whatever, there are plenty of places to do that, but there aren't a lot of places to have a discussion about Carol Christian Poell--or Cloak, for that matter. So here we, all shopping at the same places, and hopefully all shopping in different sizes (fyi, I'm always going to be snagging the largest sizes--I'm 6'4").

I never saw the shorter leather jacket. I saw the cotton one, but I went with the hooded bomber (not the waxed one) and the flight jacket instead. And the knits, and the hooded sweatshirt, and some slacks... argh. I absolutely loved the long shearling coat, but $3600 is a bit too much. That white trench is amazing from last season. I never saw it in my size. I really liked the very military trench they did this collection, but it isn't very functional--even one size up from my normal size I couldn't raise my arms very high. That's why I went with the Raf coat, even though it is cut so slim I can only get a light sweater underneath it.

I'm going to be in SE Asia and Japan for about a month soon, and I'm not even sure if I should bother looking for stuff, because I've been told that no one will even stock my sizes.

Well no wonder you're having suits made custom. Goodie, because I'm a short 46, Faust is a 48 and raijin is a 44. So as long as we like the stuff and have the wherewithal, Atelier should be in business for a while!

 

[faust]

Well no wonder you're having suits made custom. Goodie, because I'm a short 46, Faust is a 48 and raijin is a 44. So as long as we like the stuff and have the wherewithal, Atelier should be in business for a while!

Wait, I saw you there!!!

 

[Scott]

You guys should get discounts for doing PR for that place....

 

[baklanyc]

Wait, I saw you there!!!

Well, I was asking Carlo about you, but he didn't mention you while I was there... were you there yesterday later afternoon? Of course, it DID get pretty busy when I picked up mmy CCPs, so you coulda been coming right as I was leaving... I was wearing the Veronique tweed flares.

And yeah, Scott, I completely agree with your idea. Discounts fer days!