Chris Leba’s pre-fall collection had a little bit of everything for the distinctly cool R13 customer this season.
Forever inspired by his former boss, Ralph Lauren, Leba rooted a section of pre-fall in the idea of traditional menswear tailoring, but redone in the spirit of R13’s signature edge, punk and grunge ethos.
“It’s classic, but the shirt is cinched at the back,” he said, pointing to a slightly open pink button-down shirt, paired with oversize blazer and sweatpants cut wider to resemble trousers. “From far away, it looks classic but going into detail, it’s not.”
The statement resonated throughout the collection, as seen through pants updated with strong wide legs that puddled to the floor and jackets with oversize yet structured shapes, all of which came in a strong array of traditional menswear checks, tweeds, leather and velvet corduroy. Ditto to his signature offering of grungy layers in plaids, playful leopard and dark florals, as seen across easy dresses, oversize sweaters and a reversible, cocooning coat, which Leba pointed to as one of his personal favorites. “It’s tattered but luxe — always playing with contradictions,” he added of a new loose coat in tweed with leopard chiffon overlay.
Outside of tailoring, vintage-inspired transitional outerwear and ample denim layers, Leba peppered in twisted workwear, including jackets inspired by traditional Carhartt chore jackets, which looked especially great in a refreshing white hue with blue floral motifs.
But that’s not all. Leaning into the vintage spirit, Leba rounded out the collection with ultra-cool pajama dressing that matched the collection’s take on twisted classics and the overall edgy mood.
