Earlier this season, New Yorkers Jin Kee and Dylan Kao found themselves exchanging photos of inspiring outfits they encountered during their daily commutes, whether they were standard finance-give suits or more unexpected looks. “We’re genuinely interested in people, and that’s kind of become our design language,” Kay said. For fall, they wanted to reflect the diverse characters that inspired them (and hired many of their friends to serve as models to reflect a diverse tapestry of different styles and sensibilities).
The resulting collection is a bit full of quotes. Since its inception, Commission has excelled at infusing classic American sportswear pieces with a cool, subversive twist. The new classification continues this focus. “A lot of our clothes register as really classic, but if you look a little closer, there’s always a little something,” Kao said.
The go-to wardrobe got a fresh upgrade: This season’s denim jacket, for one, featured a low waist, so the waist was artful. Sporty football shirts can be worn in two ways: with traditional sleeves, or with arm cutouts behind them, so that the sleeves are tucked in at the front. Business dress shirts also split at the chest, and polo shirts came in double layers.
Jackets and coats were just downright cool. A leather bomber was cropped and boxy, and tech nylon jackets made a comeback in the 1980s, which designers fondly remember. “(The brand) was built from our memories of the way our parents used to dress in the ’80s,” Cao said. Tailoring is difficult to make fun, but this pair succeeds: a wool blazer reworked with inverted princess seams and curved shoulders for a delicately tailored fit. “People are craving something proper,” Kay said.
While the brand has long taken a fairly gender-neutral approach, Key and Cao note that they’ve recently been thinking about separating womenswear and menswear. This season, they designed dresses and skirts that lend themselves to occasion dressing. A silk blouse had pleated and ruffled edges along the hemline. The side skirt had seams that you would normally see on jeans. Nothing was beautiful or perfect. A sleeveless top made of striped shirting was cropped with an open waist. Office wear that you can get stuck in too!
