N. Hoolywood Spring 2012: Rebel With A Cause

Out of all the men's shows in New York, N. Hoolywood certainly banks on its theatricality. With each successive outing, the designer Daisuke Obana raises the bar, putting on the only men's show that is a genuine spectacle. His debut presentation in 2010 had the street-cast models rounded up in a veritable crime wave and staged in a police identification mugshot array -- a perfect iteration of the label's film noir DNA.

"If you're a guy, you should be interested in something bad!" Obana said after his Friday night show in a Tribeca theater. For this go-around, Obana mined the cinematic early-sixties -- but don't worry, he shied away from the done-to-death Mad Men exec. As a mock opening sequence inspired by classics such as The Man With The Golden Arm and North by Northwest scattershot words on a giant movie screen, the models strode out to a swinging horn-driven spy soundtrack. Spotlights flashed and the gents would suddenly emerge from looming shadows. Obana put his Japanese twist into a procession of sixties American archetypes - heavy on the Brylcream. Greasers, collegiate nerds, sharkskin suited toughs and everything in between rocked short-sleeved striped sweaters and slim cut high-waters. Heavy graphic flourishes echoed the opening credits in films or even film itself, exposed from an open canister.

-- WILLIAM VAN METER

Photos courtesy of Sarah Olin