Denim guru François Girbaud’s latest project is a uniform for the modern-day urbanite.
Girbaud presented his second capsule collaboration with German label Closed during an intimate runway presentation with the brand’s creative director, Sophie Lewis, in New York City last week.
The collaboration is a homecoming for Girbaud, a revisit to the company that he founded in 1978 with his wife, Marithe. Girbaud sold the company in the ’90s, but returned in 2017 for a 40th anniversary collection.
Girbaud builds on the success of his first collaboration with Closed by expanding the assortment with jackets, coats and new jeans and chino styles. The collection—36 pieces for women and 28 for men—was designed with streetwear comfort and functionality in mind.
“Comfort, fit and functionality are key today,” Girbaud said during the presentation. “People are now looking at jeans as a lifestyle…Jeans are for 24-hour use.”
Streetwear trends like wording are prominent in the collection, as well as Girbaud’s laser sharp focus on pattern making and details. “I’m bringing something more to the street through fabric, fabric treatment, [and] new details. Changing a fly, changing a crop,” he described.
The collection features warp-stretch denim and chino trousers that offer the wearer a wider range of movement.
The words ‘Closed likes Girbaud likes Closed …’ are printed as details on several items—a graphic nod to the way millennials communicate over social media.
Girbaud emphasizes the importance of versatility in the collection with a reversible bomber jacket made with denim and color blocked satin, and a boiled wool coat with a detachable bottom.
The designer also reinvented the fly with a design that can be worn low and slouchy or high on the waist.
The Closed × François Girbaud line is currently available for pre-order at all of Closed’s international showrooms. The collection will be available in the U.S. at American Rag, Brooklyn Denim Co., Muleh and Erdon.
