Woodhouse Fall/Winter 2017 New York

By Aria Hughes

Julian Woodhouse’s last collection was quite conceptual. The Seoul-based, American designer who served as an executive officer in the U.S. Army — he recently got out — had offered an Art Deco-influenced lineup in an array of forward silhouettes. But now he wants to make things more palatable for the male of today.

“I usually use ephemeral concepts to create my collections,” Woodhouse said. “But this time I looked out of my window and thought, ‘I want to design for the guy right now.’”

The Wood House guy wears on-trend ath-leisure staples — joggers, sweatshirts and parkas — but they are enlivened with drawstrings that lace up around the leg, color-blocked panels and heavy hardware. Tongue-in-cheek messaging showed up on a pink sweatshirt, which stated: “You don’t want to f–k with this little piggie,” and on a collar, which said “All Choked Up.” Outerwear, which was strong, included velvet, perforated bombers, pleather jackets and long coats with zip-off bottoms that can be worn two ways.

Wood House’s show notes reiterated today’s confusing political climate, which has caused him, and many others, angst. His solution is to do things differently to change his perception. He brought that to his collection, which looked familiar but offered new ideas.