If you haven't heard the name Michael Bastian by now, you may as well have been living under a rock. Bastian's career has nearly skyrocketed since receiving the title of CFDA's Menswear Designer of the Year in 2011, after being nominated the three years prior. While Michael Bastian's personal collection is worth noting, is his collaboration with other brands that have truly made 2012 the Year of Bastian.
For Fall 2010, GANT decided to collaborate with Bastian to bring life into the lifeless brand that GANT was becoming synonymous for. Bastian brought about a breath of fresh air to GANT's staples by including loud colors and slimmer cuts without changing too much of the brands image. For GANT by Michael Bastian Fall/Winter 2012, Bastian has mentioned his years of living in Boston as his main inspiration. The pieces GANT and Bastian came up with have an element of luck into the story that Bastian attempts to show through the Fall collection. The men's collection that Bastian created keeps in line with his earlier tweaks to the traditional preppy look, it has tweed intermingled with GANTs staples, like traditional Oxford's and long-sleeve polos.
Established clothing brands aren't the only thing that Bastian has decided to put his particular touch on. M. Bastian x Randolph Engineering is the 2012 eye-wear line that features Bastians take on eyeglasses as well as sunglasses. Randolph Engineering has been around since 1972, providing eye-wear to the United States Air Force as well as the Department of Defense. Bastian came and reworked their traditional metal aviators which Randolph was known for, and added some new details which bring such traditional classics into the modern age. Using acetate frames, a first for Randolph, Bastian creates an updated look to the eye-wear line this fall. A particular pair to note are the JD Clip-on, limited edition, frames.