A New(ish) Designer With a World of Experience

Antonio Azzuolo's New York-based menswear line is very new (Fall '09 is only its 3rd season), but that doesn't mean Azzuolo is a new designer. This Montreal native has worked his way through the great triumvirate of fashion cities, from Milan (his first stop after studying apparel arts and tailoring in Toronto) to Paris (where he designed for Hermès, Kenzo and Galeries Lafayette) and New York (which, most recently, saw him at the helm of Ralph Lauren's Purple Label and Black Label collections). With so much experience under his belt, it's no wonder his own label already seems fully formed--there's none of the dithering that sometimes plagues other "new" designers.

As Azzuolo himself explains, "Inspiration is like a pyramid. The base is broad and fundamental, like one's past. As you move up to the point, there are flashes of things one sees, seasonal influences." For Fall '09, the designer brought together two opposing forces: a sexy, roped-shouldered silhouette reminiscent of mid-'60s Rolling Stones, and a sober, more gentlemanly style suggested by George Bernard Shaw circa 1950. In Azzuolo's competent hands, this sartorial fusion produced a Big Bang collection of "mismatched" suitings, elegant tweeds and handsome classics, sharpened with touches of Continental tailoring and Parisian flair. His deft use of recycled fur adds hints of dandyism: one vest reverses from lustrous mink to simple wool pinstripes, and even something as ostensibly basic as a pea coat looks more polished with its bold fur collar, tight twill cloth and bright metal buttons.

It takes a mature talent to create interesting menswear that's not outlandish, and to recognize that even fashion consumers don't always want a designer to reinvent the wheel. Sometimes, the most satisfying solution is one that feels vaguely familiar. As Azzuolo himself puts it, "the idea is to be both old and new, to go forward while looking to the past." We're already looking ahead to Spring '10, and we can't wait to see what Antonio Azzuolo will show us.

Top: Fur-trimmed wool coat and cotton shirt by Antonio Azzuolo. Silk tie by Band of Outsiders. Bottom: Tweed jacket, reversible mink-and-wool vest and cotton shirt by Antonio Azzuolo. Jeans by Dior Homme. Wool tie by Hermès. Shoes by Acne.

www.antonioazzuolo.com and www.kesner-ny.com

Photograph: Noël Sutherland www.noelsutherland.com

Grooming: Stacy Beneke for Mark Edward, Inc. www.markedwardinc.com
Model: Jake Madden at Ford Models www.fordmodels.com

Styling: Mark Grischke Portfolio 1 and Portfolio 2

Understated Luxury: Birds of Sausalito's Boxers

Boxers or briefs? For some men, there's no question: boxer shorts literally define masculinity. FA2L doesn't follow such hard-and-fast rules--briefs seem right under jeans, for example, but boxers are nice for lounging around the house. Our main concern is with quality, which means comfortable fabrics, strong construction, discrete labels (if any) and no bunchy, scrunchy elastic waistbands. This makes the Birds of Sausalito custom-fit boxer (shown above), with its near-perfect score, such a great find.

Megan and Michael Papay, Birds of Sausalito's founders, offer a textbook example of matching product to demand. Megan studied costume design at the University of Virginia; worked in New York as a fashion publicist; and ran a made-to-measure company dressing the quietly rich women of Wilmington, Delaware. Michael specialized in entrepreneurship at Babson College. When a job for Michael moved the couple to Sausalito, just north of San Francisco, Megan started thinking about a new venture that would take advantage of her fashion experience and Michael's business savvy. She knew the women's clothing market was over-saturated, so she focused on menswear; and she chose to concentrate on the luxury end of the spectrum, where a good idea could allow her to dominate a niche. Underwear had already seen several decades of remarkable growth, but most new businesses were pushing briefs. Megan and Michael set their sights on luxurious boxer shorts, and launched Birds of Sausalito in 2006.

The casual consumer may ask, what can possibly make one boxer more luxurious than another? For aficionados, the answer is simple: superior fabric, sturdy-yet-elegant construction, and no elastic, anywhere. Custom shirt makers, like Charvet, are one source for perfectly-sized, finely-finished boxers, but only if money is truly no object. At the other end of the scale, Brooks Bros. still makes its tie-back version (with, as the name implies, a string that ties in back, adjusting the waist) and its Frenchback boxer (with a fabric tab and buttons performing the same function). The fabric and details are basic--not bad, not luxurious--but the fit is traditional in every sense of the word, with front pleats and a very generous cut. Comfortable? Yes. Flattering? Not always.

Birds of Sausalito's boxers are more expensive than the Brooks Bros. shorts, but the Papays have upped the luxury quotient considerably, resulting in a product that's similar to a custom-made item (using 448-count Pima cotton, single-needle construction, and mother-of-pearl buttons) at less-than-custom prices. They manage this by working with a Peruvian company that's vertically integrated, meaning it grows, processes, and weaves the cotton, then cuts, sews and finishes the boxers (as well as a new line of pajamas). There are two styles: the classic fit, which combines a smooth front with an elastic back and a generous seat gusset; and, our favorite, the custom fit. This boxer is slim and trim, with a tailored yoke and charmingly large buttons. Its only flaw (we may be in the minority here) is a small section of elastic in the center back for "ease." Boxer enthusiasts will appreciate it as underwear; guys who wear briefs will like it as lounge wear. As Megan says, "Birds of Sausalito boxers are for someone who appreciates quality. He's willing to pay a little more (when something is worth it) because he knows it will last longer." Our feelings exactly.

www.birdsboxers.com

Photograph: Noël Sutherland www.noelsutherland.com
Grooming: Stacy Beneke for Mark Edward, Inc. www.markedwardinc.com
Model: Jake Madden at Ford Models www.fordmodels.com