Free Style!

There's No Denying that when you design men's clothes, you project your images of the men who are going to wear them. So if you invite a number of designers, spanning several generations, countries and ethnic groups, to submit one-of-a-kind creations to be showcased at a gala fashion extravaganza, what you're going to have--in addition to a host of smashing outfits--is a sartorial symposium on human nature. And that's what almost 300 fashion celebrities and media people were treated to, not long ago, at New York's Four Seasons restaurant when Playboy Fashion Director Robert L. Green again presided over our annual Creative Menswear International Designer Collection. While previous collections had featured clothes more experimental than practical, this year's selections (totaling 67) were, with few exceptions, (concluded on page 268) Free Style! (continued from page 162) easily translatable to the real world. And very real, too, was the Who's Who of designers contributing to the event, with fashions from Blass, Cardin, St. Laurent and De la Renta waiting in the wings next to the creations of a number of talented newcomers--black designers Scott Barrie and Jay Jaxon, Yannis Tseklenis of Greece, Kansai Yamamoto of Japan and five student designers, there from New York's Fashion Institute of Technology and two from London's Royal College of Art.

Many of the outfits, not surprisingly, focused on leisurewear. Some involved outdoor activity; a motorcycle suit of scrubbed blue denim from Yamamoto, a quilted track suit from Tom Gilbey (England) and a nylon-taffeta boating outfit by Robert Grahame (U.S.).

More tranquil moments--the kind that require a touch of opulence or sensuality--were conjured up by a gold-and-black-brocade dinner jacket with velvet cape, from Guy Laroche (France), a multipattern green-velvet ensemble from Testa (Italy) and a satin smoking jacket with matching lounger pants from Pinky & Dianne of Flo Toronto (U.S.).

Of a more practical nature, yet not without a futuristic touch, was the carryall camel's-hair suit--for the international commuter, no less--from Berny Schwartz of Eric Ross (U.S.).

Of course, there was no shortage of designs for just swinging and/or relaxing, such as a reversible coat of unplucked nutria over a patchwork sweater, from Egon von Furstenberg (U.S.) and the sweater-as-jacket looks from Bill Blass, Oscar de la Renta and DDDominick (all U.S.).

Remembrances of things past were provided by outfits suffused with nostalgia. Among them were a Gatsbyish dinner jacket with wing-collar shirt and white pants, by Ralph Lauren of Polo (U.S.), a Casablanca suit in ecru-pongee silk from Dimitri of Italy (U.S.), a satin-and-sequin jacket--with Walt Disney characters--from Bill Bowers and Paul Gearity of Caprice (U.S.), a dinner jacket with a jockey-stripe satin vest from Tommy Nutter (England) and a Cardin (France) suit with ultrashort jacket and Western detailing that recalled hoss-opry fashions.

And, from the irrepressible Rudi Gernreich (U.S.), ever the iconoclast, came a little something for the couples of the year 2000, when--according to Gernreich--people will lounge around naked (or nearly so) in the privacy of their homes but seek anonymity and psychic privacy by hiding behind uniforms while in public. Gernreich provided the uniforms--his-and-her suits of armor, sterling silver for the man, ivory for the lady.

The evening's thoughts of the future, however, were neatly balanced by views from the past--a slide show that recapped the first 20 years of Playboy fashions, and very handsome they were--but time, as they say, marches on. Which, to go fullround, is what the Creative Menswear Collection is all about.