— Autumn / Winter 2023 collection
AMIRI ’s Autumn-Winter 2023 collection is the equivalent of a soundtrack. A layered composition drawn through the memories and ambitions of CEO and Creative Director Mike Amiri.
We drop the needle on an original composition written and performed live by legendary US producer DJ Premier and The Badder Band, transporting us to 90s New York: when the East Coast was setting the agenda – with Premier as its lead orchestrator. This is where the AW23 process began, with Mike in Premier’s Queens studio exchanging ideas and discovering archival cuts that link to the designer’s own formative years.
The idea of production flows through the collection itself, as Mike and his team’s methodology replicates the notion of being in the recording studio: jamming, discovering new rhythms, new ways of playing with materials. On this beat, time-honoured tailoring fundamentals are cut with those of skate, studio and stage. Drawn loose, fluid with generous proportions, shapes slouch with languid downtown ease. An irreverent spirit finessed by sophisticated materials – cashmere, silk, shearling, faux fur, brushed wool – elevates garments to the most luxurious versions of themselves; cast in a palette of monochrome, silver grey, azure and ochre, accented with jolts of deep red and mint green replicating the city hues.
Within AMIRI’s subverted classicism, suiting becomes an everyday signifier of comfort and elegance, rendered in supple leather or brushed wool, as Blazers are reimagined with the iconic properties of a varsity jacket and, in parallel, casual shapes are artfully matured and detailed. Untucked shirt hems peer beneath knitwear, and trademark wide, pleated pants pool more than ever – at times crafted in soft teddy fabric with oversized utility pockets. The optimism of 50s Americana weaves throughout. Prep uniforms mingle with Beat Generation prose, and newsboy hats are counterculture icons. This era is crucial: a time when American youth began to forge their own culture – transposed to today through a skate sensibility, the lineage of adolescent rebellion is unified.
Abstracting the familiar, techniques developed and established in-house distort fabric perception: Swarovski sequins are hand-embroidered and loose-ended to mimic tassels and the delicate texture of fur is imitated by uncut fine silk. Signature bandana prints are patchworked leather and suede, while patterns hand-painted in the studio are translated to shearling jackets, meticulously crafted from leftover fabric as expressive 3D brushstrokes. An extravagance in artisanal innovation embraces a sense of performance, drawing on Mike’s early days designing contemporary stagewear for world-renowned musicians.
Within a meeting of craft and flow, Premier’s layered musical scores are mirrored by textured garments. An image of Premier at his decks is drawn as knit, while a patchwork varsity jacket is adorned with badges inspired by those from the archive. ‘Some artists make music some make history’ is written in appliqué across select pieces, paying ultimate homage. Like Premier’s scratches, Mike Amiri’s ornate, craftful details are his signature.
The Drum Machine bag is introduced as a nod to the favorite instrument amongst producers, alongside The Record in ode to vinyl. AMIRI-branded vinyl crates are carried by models, and on foot a new hi-top MA-1 style is debuted alongside faux fur iterations of the Malibu Boot.
This season represents Mike Amiri in the studio: riffing, experimenting, hitting his rhythm.
