Prague Fashion: Gray Matters

The Autumn/Winter 2012 collection of Jakub Polanka’s first menswear collection exclusively for Pietro Filipi will no doubt entice the already very skeptical male consumer to rethink everything they know about Czech fashion.

James Bond, Oscar Wilde, Dr. Zhivago, Steve McQueen, and Rocky Balboa all played a part in the development in the collection- why you ask? -“{there are} five characters, five hero’s, five styles, five silhouettes- five options, one man,” explains Mr. Polanka of his first ever collection for Pietro Filipi. This gives the more conservative man infinite freedom to pick and choose his wardrobe based on his feelings or the outward appearance he wants to show the world on a particular day rather than a cookie-cutter silhouette of what he should have.

One of the things that will become evident rather quickly is a lack of pop colors that are so often found in ready-to-wear collections. Gray was the most dominant color for no other reason than the notion of giving the consumer the choice “to combine the pieces {of the collection} with others {perhaps already available in the wardrobe}. “There is no dominant color but a diversity in structure and materials used,” Jakub had said. The use of one color completed in tonal shades like charcoal and heather, only intensifies the collection - it does not reduce it to the post-autumnal sale section or outlet mall that has claimed many a fashion silhouette victim.

Quality fabrics and tailoring were the hallmark of the collection, as is so often the case with almost everything Mr. Polanka produces. The five themes are visible in structured slim-cut trousers, updated and fitted loungewear and hoodies, luxuriously soft cable-knit sweaters in either crew cut or mock crew neck, with innovative fabrics and textiles completing the look. Scarves, in tonal grays, are also an important accessory for the Jakub Polanka man- either in an infinite scarf made of cotton or of a basic cable-knit.

Of course there were some oddities that I would be shocked to see a man in Prague wearing- namely- a transparent rainproof cape, as well as a cap that looks rather similar to the self-personification of every Czech - The Good Soldier Švejk.

Jakub Polanka’s collection will be available in stores come September, and while the trousers may not work for a more portly man, jackets, coats and shirts will. The collection has something for everyone and every body type. It was well executed and looks to be saleable - here’s hoping the Czech population believes it as well.

Read more from Heather O'Brien on her Prague Fashion Blog.