Born and raised in Los Angeles, Mik Cire designer Eric Kim grew up immersed in the skate and surf cultures of Southern California. He always had a passion for architecture and construction, and in his youth, envisioned a career in furniture design. Yet, as he got older, he feared that a successful and lucrative career in furniture design might be too small of a niche market for the fantastic success that he aspired to achieve. Thus, he chose to matriculate at F.I.D.M in LA, and major in his alternate career choice, fashion design. His first job in fashion was as a design assistant for Rampage where he spent his first few years of his career working in the JR apparel markets. He later was recruited by Pure Garden, a moderate men's sportswear company, to head their design team. After two years with Pure Garden, he created his own labels, Macros and Indigo Star. In seven years of running and producing Indigo Star, the company grew into to a 36 million dollar company. Next, his talents were enlisted by Interstate, a major American retail chain. During his time at Interstate, Eric Kim started yet another brand named Arch Angel, a line which he used as his learning template for the premium clothing market. Then he created Monarchy, a premium prêt-à-porter contemporary brand. Monarchy had phenomenal success, selling in more than forty-five countries world-wide. In January of 2010, he resigned from Monarchy to launch his first name-sake brand : Mik Cire, id est Eric Kim spelled backwards. And here is the third collection. It was inspired by the tailor-made man who really likes fashion. A total black on black collection -with a spatter of red- never looked as good as it did on the runway. The theme was "form & function", meaning extremely tailored clothes. Hence the flex seam, a seam that incorporates elastic to allow it to stretch in areas with a large amount of tension or restriction. Some of the looks included lambskin blazers, slim fitted suits, cropped trousers, riding pants, wax-coated denim jackets, fur which was used to trim wool parkas paired with shin-high lace-up boots and leather backpacks. Outstanding pieces consisted of a perfectly tailored double-breast shearling coat with fur trim and the black denim riding pants. Its impeccable design and high collar gave it instant character, especially when Sean O’Pry wore it down the runway. Wool belted jackets tied at the back added a nice touch and helped refine some of the looks while accessories were on point and helped round out the collection. There were some chunky funnel neck scarves, and some amazing hats. The only color aside from black that was present were these red leather pieces which definitely popped when Nils Butler and Berthold Rothas came down the runway. The contrast between the inky blacks was sharp but not out of place. Ageless pieces like this will spend many years as part of any wardrobe. The season was defined by a European fit that allowed the comfort of layering to be sharp, hip and modern. The target customer is a trendsetter, a man who is comfortable with himself, who is fashion-forward but not to the extent of looking like a clown. Someone who knows and understands quality and sees the details in things. A man who knows he’s successful but doesn’t have to constantly show it. A guy who is comfortable wearing his label on the inside. Timeless fashion you can wear for years and seasons on end. Very nice indeed.
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