Ahead of this season, New Yorkers Jin Kay and Dylan Cao found themselves exchanging photos of the inspiring outfits they came across during their daily commutes, be they standard-finance-guy suits or more unexpected looks. “We’re genuinely interested in people, and that’s become our design language in a way,” said Kay. For fall, they wanted to reflect the different 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 full of little quirks. Since its inception, Commission has excelled at infusing classic American sportswear pieces with cool, subversive twists; the new assortment continues that focus. “A lot of our garments register as really classic, but if you look a little closer, there’s always a little something,” said Cao.
Closet go-to’s got a fresh upgrade: This season’s denim jacket, for one, featured a lowered yolk, so the back had an artful slouch. Sporty soccer shirts could be worn two ways: with traditional sleeves, or arm cutouts just behind them, so that the sleeves draped in the front. Businessy dress shirts also had splices at the chest, and polo shirts came in doubled-up layers.
Jackets and coats were just plain cool. A leather bomber was cropped and boxy, and techy nylon jackets harked back to the 1980s, which the designers remember fondly. “[The brand] was built from our memories of the way our parents would dress in the ’80s,” said Cao. It’s hard to make tailoring fun, but the duo succeeded: A wool blazer was reworked with reversed princess seams and curved shoulders for a delicately-shrunken fit. “People are craving something proper,” said Kay, declaring that baggy-everything is perhaps on the outs.
Though the brand has long taken a fairly genderless approach, Kay and Cao noted that recently they’ve been thinking about separating the womenswear and menswear. This season, they designed dresses and skirts that lent themselves to occasion dressing. A silky blouse had pleating and frayed edges along the hemline; the accompanying skirt had seams you would usually see on jeans. Nothing was too pretty or perfect. A sleeveless top, made of striped shirting, was cropped with an open back. Office wear that you can also rave in!
