Neo-Neo-Preppy
Olivier Borde recently introduced Garde Robe, a collection reminiscent of the preppy-but-tattered boys in ‘‘Lord of the Flies’’: snug jackets are paired with voluminous shorts and polos with unruly stripes and large hand-embroidered roosters on the chest. Borde and his business partner, Heath Callender, an American stylist who used to work for J. Crew, set up their atelier in Carpentras, the small Provençal town where Borde grew up. The duo created Garde Robe soon after they were cited for ‘‘reinventing the classics of male fashion’’ at France’s annual young design and photography competition in Hyères. ‘‘We decided to take advantage of the buzz,’’ says Borde, who has always wanted to do men’s wear, despite a stint with the women’s designer Charles Anastase in London. During a visit to Los Angeles, he fell for skating gear and casual American basics, which he reworks with intricate detailing. ‘‘We like the clothes to look handmade,’’ Borde says, ‘‘so there’s lots of patchwork with vintage fabrics like old lining silk, and mother-of-pearl buttons that Heath found at an Amish store in Pennsylvania. Right now, Garde Robe is small enough for us to do that.’’ Don’t count on its staying that way for long. Available at Maria Luisa in Paris. REBECCA VOIGHT
-this sundays NY Times Style Magazine
Opposing view from 2008
Japan Rejects Neo-Prep as “Dad Fashion”
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