14 July, 2015

Coming soon: Trademark AW15

The Burch girls from Trademark are quietly building a solid brand, assembled around all my favourites – coats, knits and shirts. They arrived on the New York scene only a few seasons ago with their ‘modern preppie’ sweatshirts and considered accessories and have developed a strong signature that I guess is in keeping with the idea of American sportswear. That is, ‘sportswear’ in the traditional sense of everyday separates, as opposed to Lulu Lemon-esque ‘athleisure‘.

It’s an interesting time for said sportswear. It’s an almost quaint idea when you think of how brands like Donna Karan and Ralph Lauren are being usurped by upstarts of the Public School and Alexander Wang kind. But I like the Trademark aesthetic a lot. The branding is great, very clean, with a tomboyish bent, but not necessarily androgynous. And I love the look book photography.

These are the AW15 look book pictures which have a slightly domesticated look about them, inspired as they were, by ‘moms’. In fact, they were shot in the Pennsylvania home of Pookie and Louisa Burch’s mum, which ties up the theme rather nicely.

I met up with the Burch sisters when they were in London to preview their pre-fall and autumn-winter collections. I got a really thorough look at the pieces and got to geek out over the poplin shirts and polypropylene knits. The polypropylene gives the knitwear a techy, boxy feel, which adds a modern spin to the otherwise nostalgic silhouettes. But I gravitated most towards the coats, which have simple, modernist cuts but interesting details, like scallop edges and removable collars. The other details I liked were the shirts with detachable scarves and the Belgian loafers which are becoming something of a signature.

Matches Fashion is supporting Trademark in the UK, with a selection of AW15 pieces gradually filtering through on the website. There’s also a great interview here worth reading if you want to know more about the brand.