Savile Row designer Richard James comes with a vibrant, very cool-wearing collection that captures Miami at its meridian moment for Spring 2023 Collection titled Miami ’83.
Richard James is a British fashion designer known for his contemporary take on classic men’s tailoring. He was born in 1957 in Manchester, England, and later moved to London to study fashion design at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design.
In 1992, James opened his first store on Savile Row, which is known for its traditional bespoke tailoring. However, James introduced a modern twist to the Savile Row tradition, incorporating bolder colors and more contemporary silhouettes into his designs.
James quickly gained a reputation for his innovative and stylish approach to menswear. He was one of the first designers to bring a more youthful energy to Savile Row, attracting a younger clientele with his bright colors and sharp cuts.
In addition to his tailoring, James has also designed casual wear, accessories, and even a fragrance line. He has won numerous awards for his work, including the Menswear Designer of the Year award at the British Fashion Awards in 2003.
Today, Richard James is considered one of the most influential menswear designers in the world, and his brand has expanded globally with stores in London, Tokyo, and New York.
1983 was the year that saw Miami’s reputation as the city of all-encompassing stimulation peak.
Before researching into this aesthetic, I always called it “Miami Vice”. I think this stemmed from a combination of seeing reruns of Miami Vice and the video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City which each took advantage of the color palate and nostalgic feeling that is often incorporated into this aesthetic.
The aesthetic is more officially known by the name “Outrun” or sometimes “Synthwave”. The origins of this more refined aesthetic stem from the more broad aesthetic that would be deemed an “80s” aesthetic. Movies, restaurants, clothes, commercials, and artists in the 80s often used the neon color pallet, geometric patterns, and graphics in their designs. The overall “80s” aesthetic can actually be pinpointed to a specific origin. Memphis Group was an art collective comprised of architects and designers from all across the world who are actually credited with introducing art collections into the world that heavily influenced the overall aesthetic of the 80s (Lee).
Memphis Group was heavily influenced by radical design. Radical design has it’s roots in Italy as a response to the restrictive nature of minimalism, radical design operated in quite the opposite sense and was the main driving force behind a lot of Memphis Group’s pieces (Sowden). The group sought to create highly unique and colorful décor and furniture at the trade off of functionality. Although their work never saw main stream success in furniture catalogues and homes, when observing their work it is obvious to see the heavy influence they had on 80s fashion, art, colors, and culture as a whole and how that inception would eventually lead to the aesthetic at hand, “Outrun”.
“Synthwave” music, which namesake stems from the heavily used synthesizer instrument of the 80s, will often use sound clips and samples from retro commercials, movies, songs, and games to conjure up that elusive nostalgia.
The new SS23 collection is arriving in-store and online now.
Designer Richard James @richardjamesofficial