Cloak Menswear Fall 05 NYC

[baklanyc]

My line of thought was that you can buy a lot of that stuff (like basic Helmut Lang, Duffers, basic Burberry) in Century. Do they have loyal clientelle?

Yeah - I personally shop there all the time, athough I may not necessarily purchase. But I think I got my first Cloak item there, or at least found it there first. People shop on the spur of the moment. If I see a $32 tee shirt or $175 pair of pants, I'm not thinking, "Oh, maybe I can get that for 50% off at Century later in the season." I'm sure there's a lot of spontaneity involved in their clienteles' purchases. Never underestimate the need to have something immediately.

 

[kLm]

Hello Faust, and thanks for your reply to my question. Baklanyc thank you too. I was basing what I asked on what Baklanyc mentioned, and now I know kLm mentioned as well, specifically that Louis Boston is dropping them, and so is Atelier eventually I believe. Thanks for clarifying that they will open a Cloak store. I am no fashion expert, so my opinion may not be very valuable, but Cloak for me are one of the more exciting designers, something that I hadn't felt in some time, probably since the first Raf Simons, Ann Demeleumeester, CCP, and Carpe Diem collections sometime ago. Good to know that their are going strong, and gaining.

I know Atelier is picking them up again for F/W. For Spring, Cloak didn't produce as many pieces as other collections, and there are only a few that are particularly interesting (to me), but nothing compared to how good the last collection was. Bottom line--they need to get their production issues in order; I know retailers weren't happy that Cloak stuff was arriving over a month later than all of their other merchandise for S/S.

I think they'll do fine, in the long run, especially considering the amount of press they are getting. Now they just have to meet expectations. I'm not sure if I agree with the notion of them going to "true" designer prices; I know that it adds a certain amount of unfortunate "cachet" for a lot of people, but I'm not sold on the soundness of the strategy. I also keep hearing rumblings that the sticker shock we are experiencing now is going to pale in comparison to what we are going to see for F/W 05, as the Euro continues to gain and the labels pass even higher costs onto us. We won't know for sure until then, but the estimates I've heard have put some designers at 1.5x current prices.

 

[jadovski75]

I took the risk and ventured into Louis Boston yesterday, risk on the credit card of course! I can first confirm what KLm and baklanyc said in that Louis will not be carrying Cloak next season because of the production and distribution issues that KLm mentioned. I liked a few of the pieces, and nearly walked out with a pair of jeans was it not for a last minute change of mind, thinking I would wait for the sales. A couple of comments:
I agree that I don't think this season is as good as last, in my opinion, F/W 04 was the best by far.
I know that there are a few Bostonians here so I would kindly (or maybe not so kindly) ask you to stay away from the Cloak jeans size 32. These are mine!

 

[jhaime]

can someone post the picture off of the WireImage page of that awesome parka coat pleaseee....

 

[jhaime]

ok, no worries, i saw it on their site..

 

[jhaime]

anywhere online i can purchase the hoody top...with the V down round the neck?

as, selfridges is a bit of a treck...

 

[kLm]

ok, no worries, i saw it on their site..

The one with the fur trim hood? It is pretty damn awesome, I saw it a few weeks ago. There are a lot of really, really cool pieces, I hope they all hit the stores. I think that parka is going to be pricy, though... but it isn't leather, so maybe it won't be _too_ bad.

 

[Tourni]

I don't think I would wear a cloak. At least not here in MIAMI

 

[Arturo21]

No, I have dark hair

Do you m o d e l, Faust? (My comp still won't let me type that word..so i put spaces in between )

 

[faust]

Do you m o d e l, Faust? (My comp still won't let me type that word..so i put spaces in between )

No, what gave you that indication?

 

[Arturo21]

Because you posted pics of people m o deling Cloak on the first page and Helena asked if u were in the second pic so I assumed that u m o deled for Cloak.

 

[faust]

Because you posted pics of people m o deling Cloak on the first page and Helena asked if u were in the second pic so I assumed that u m o deled for Cloak.

Ah, no, not me. I'm too short to be a model

 

[AlexN]

I don't think I would wear a cloak. At least not here in MIAMI

This thread isn't about cloaks.

 

[Arturo21]

^

 

[arlekindearrabal]

maybe tourniquet was talking about how he wouldnt (or couldnt?) wear a cloak PIECE in miami...

 

[jhaime]

anywhere online to purchase?

 

[drexl]

Yoox has an old pair of jeans from SS04.

Oh btw, watch out for Cloak items with the antique bronze buttons, they tend to come off really easily (as they used cotton thread instead of nylon). The button of my SS04 pants came off the second time I wore them. At one store, one of the long coats from FW04 had like 3 buttons out of 5 or 6 that came off.

 

[AlexN]

anywhere online to purchase?

Very rarely on YOOX, and nothing good yet, IMO.

More often on eBay, but that's still quite rare. And again, usually nothing really worth buying.

 

[jhaime]

ah i see, i just really want the hooded top in purple, in a medium...haha

 

[baklanyc]

Thanks, faust! This doesn't look like the stuff Atelier would carry (and probably not), but I do like the progression of design, as faust said. That said, I want the belt everyone else wants, as well as this jacket - I think it'll be really versatile in winter:

I tried on this jacket at Opening Ceremony Sunday. It's hyper-complex to close - the double-belt closure requires you to close the jacket like a regular double-breasted jacket, but to insert the belts on either side of the jacket panels into slits on the waistband, then through belt buckles and finally fastening the belt ends on buttons on either side of the coat. I tried on the small, and while I used to fit the smalls of Cloak, the fit was a little more generous this season. With the difficulty in wearing it, not to mention the larger fit (granted, I was wearing just a tee underneath so it's not the best gauge of its size), plus the $850 price tag, I think I may hold off for Raf Simons' cropped jackets instead. The pinstripe fabric, however, is quite beautiful.

Opening Ceremony has a few new items and a rack of the first Cloak deliveries, but I'm not loving much like I did last Fall. But the new Cloak store opens in two weeks on Grand & Greene, I was told. Maybe there will be more things to fall for there...