You may have been astute enough to notice it but aloof enough to make it seem as though you didn't care. With whatever way you choose to see it, you can't ignore the appeal to get men to look in-between the seams of their clothing in this global climate. By that I mean that menswear designers have been trying to increase their intrinsic and sticker-price values by getting you to appreciate the story behind sourcing, construction and distribution. The idea is that if you can appreciate how an aspect of your life (your wardrobe) gives back, highlights a better future and is connected to a more enlightened humanity then maybe you would feel more connected to a brand. That is if you are attuned enough.
Joshua Katcher is attuned. His brand Brave Gentlemen offers quality eco-friendly tailored menswear a welcomed step in the right direction away from the commonly held stereotypes of tree-hugging, Teva-wearing, harem pant donning hippies. His endeavors actually extend beyond eco-friendly as Katcher aims to see his beleaguered industry delve deeper into higher aspirations away from animal cruelty, worker exploitation and non-sustainability.
Take the Spring/Summer 2018 Collection from Brave Gentleman on for better depth. Katcher took his unwavering stance of non-exploitation of any organism and poured it into botanical and snake print sportswear made with organic cotton with a waterless system, blazers & vests in Italian future 'suede' and sublime vegan leather totes and briefcases. Brave Gentleman seeks to do with menswear what many parents aim to do at the dinner table with veggies and kids. The label seeks to introduce the humanity of conscious menswear by including everything synonymous with beautiful menswear. The collection is ripe with rich browns, stark whites, coastal blues and other seasonal colors and a trim streamlined modernity. This modernity is achieved with more consciousness like using attractive slim low-waste belts with turned edges and deadstock buckles, corozo suit & shirting buttons and quality cotton batiste shirtings and pocketing.
Joshua Katcher is part of a growing number of awakened designers. The impressive thing with this new crop seems to be their appeal to see tags like 'Made in Italy' or 'Made in the USA' simply share a place behind your neck with a new label of 'Made Responsibly'.
Photos by Eric Mirbach
www.BraveGentleman.com
