I’m working on a series of posts about “life after Eidos,” with the goal to showcase brands with tailoring offerings that I see as worthy successors to Eidos’ under Antonio Ciongoli. It’s not that I think Simon Spurr’s Eidos sucks—in fact, I see some beautiful-looking outerwear and knitwear he’s got going, and actually for at least this fall season and possibly next Spring, No Man Walks Alone is still offering the Antonio-era NMWA jacket cut, rakish double-forward pleat Lorenzo and high-rise Sal trousers—it’s just that his take on tailoring doesn’t speak to me. I’ll dive into that subject a bit more when those posts are ready for prime time, but for now I just wanted to highlight two products.
First, Nordstrom has started dropping new-season Eidos offerings from Mr. Spurr, and the first thing that caught my eye is this beautiful, chunky turtleneck.
Like I said, some beautiful knitwear. Pricey, but beautiful (hope for it to stick around for deep discount season).
On the other hand, a teaser image of a navy turtleneck from Mr. Ciongoli’s new line 18 East. If I am able to buy anything from 18 East, this would be the thing:
Ciongoli describes it this way: “The only piece in the collection that we made in Italy. I’m calling it the trekking turtleneck. It’s a gutsy but soft merino shaker knit with a substantial, slightly stretched-out fold-over rib neck and racking-stitched shoulder reinforcements that are placed where your backpack would hit your shoulders.” There’s no pricing yet, but he stated, “All the shirts in the first collection retail for $95. Pants are $125-$145. Sweaters $295-$445 for 4 ply recycled cashmere. Outerwear $165-$425 for the belted cord/sherpa coat. Tees are $65 (hand embroidered) and $75 (hand blocked kalamkari prints).” Given that it’s merino, not cashmere, I’d presume it’ll come in under the $295 price point. 18 East is officially launching in mid-September.
Either sweater is a killer piece you could likely wear until you die. Ciongoli’s has a bit more style in my eyes, and the price to quality ratio sounds like it’ll be much better. But as someone pointed out last summer when Eidos announced it would be seeking a new creative director, we now get cool Eidos stuff and cool Ciongoli stuff. It’s a win-win for us consumers.
Stay tuned for more posts on fall-winter stuff I’m loving, including Eidos, 18 East, tailoring brands I’m loving, and more.
