Merging the optimism of ’50s Americana with the nostalgia of ’90s hip-hop, US fashion brand Amiri’s new AW23 menswear collection is punctuated with newsboy hats, furry Malibu boots, and an ode to vinyl records.
Born from a creative collaboration between CEO and Creative Director Mike Amiri and legendary American producer DJ Premier – best known for his work with hip-hop royalty Jay-Z, Kanye West, and The Notorious B.I.G. – the collection is marked with “PREEMO” (an alias of Premier’s) alongside the Amiri typography.
The new collection features Amiri’s trademark merging of luxury materials with a rock’n’roll sensibility. Casual silhouettes are elevated in intentional maturity and detail. Blazers are married to elements of Varsity jackets, while ultra-wide trousers pool and hit the floor. Amiri’s signature bandana print makes an appearance in the new designs, through patchwork on leather and suede.
The collection exudes a feeling of comfort and elegance in its delicate textures and hand embroidered Swarovski sequins. Sophisticated materials – some cashmeres, silks, and faux furs – bathed in a monochromatic palette of greys, azures, and earth tones, with pops of deep red and a mint green reminiscent of New York’s Lady Liberty, are featured across the collection.
Our picks from the collection are The Drum Machine bag, a nod to the popular producer’s-choice instrument, and the DJ Premier and Amiri-branded Record print, featured on caps, bags, tees, jeans, and hoodies.
Looks from the AW23 collection were presented by models walking the grooves of a vinyl record runway, to an original soundtrack crafted and performed by DJ Premier & The Badder Band, in the flesh.
Where Amiri AW23 alludes to the extravagance of Mike Amiri’s beginnings of designing contemporary stagewear for musicians, it is also a bookmark in his current artistic melody and experimentation, played over leather drum machines and knitted vinyl records.